Department for Transport

Driving: Licensing

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing penalty points on drivers' licences for not wearing seat belts.

Jesse Norman: The Government has made no assessment of the potential merits of introducing penalty points on drivers' licences for not wearing seat belts. The “Seat belt and mobile phone use surveys: England and Scotland, 2014” observed that 98.2% of car drivers were using seat belts, suggesting that take-up is nearly universal.

Transport: Disability

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department Inclusive Transport Strategy, published on 25 July 2018, how much funding from the public purse the Government plans to allocate for the implementation of that strategy.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Inclusive Transport Strategy sets out the Government’s plans for delivering a genuinely inclusive transport network for disabled and older people. Key funding announcements made from the public purse include: Up to £300m to extend the Access for All programme to make railway stations in Great Britain more accessible; £2 million to install Changing Places toilets at motorway service stations in England, supporting disabled people to travel easily and comfortably on the road network; The provision of further support for the rollout of audio-visual announcements across the bus sector through the launch of a new £2m fund to help smaller bus operators comply with planned Accessible Information Regulations and so ensure that passengers across Great Britain will know where and when to alight; A £2 million passenger awareness campaign to increase disability awareness and reduce hate crime on the network; and Continued funding for Mobility Centres which offer clinical expertise and professional high quality information, advice and assessment to people who need to gain or retain independence through mobility. This funding is in addition to the activities which will be funded directly by transport operators as part of their delivery of the Inclusive Transport Strategy.

Railway Stations: Dulwich and West Norwood

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's Inclusive Transport strategy published on 25 July 2018, what plans he has to support the introduction of step-free access at all rail stations in the Dulwich and West Norwood constituency.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Inclusive Transport Strategy, included a commitment to extend our Access for All programme to 2024 with an additional £300m of funding from the public purse. For stations to be included in the programme they need to be nominated by the industry by 16 November this year. Southern and Southeastern Train Operating Companies will be responsible for nominating individual stations in Dulwich and West Norwood.

Transport: Disability

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's Inclusive Transport strategy published on 25 July 2018, what funding will be available from the public purse for the Access for All programme to support the implementation of that strategy in the next three years.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Inclusive Transport Strategy, included a commitment to extend our Access for All programme across rail Control Period 6 (2019 to 2024) with an additional £300m of funding from the public purse.

Air Space

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department takes to ensure that the views of affected communities are taken into account in decisions on Airspace Change Programmes.

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that the health impacts of communities under proposed flight paths are taken into account in decisions on Airspace Change Programmes, including the recommendation of the World Health Organisations that people can receive eight hours of undisturbed sleep.

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to ensure the publication of all information in relation to Airspace Change Programmes.

Jesse Norman: In October 2017 the Government published revised air navigation guidance to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the aviation industry. This guidance requires airspace change sponsors to consult with those who may be affected including airspace users and communities and to take their views into account when finalising their proposals. A key requirement in the guidance is the need for sponsors following the Air Navigation Guidance 2017 to carry out a full assessment of the airspace options they are considering. This assessment takes into account the health effects of the proposals. Under the new CAA airspace change process (CAP 1616) all relevant information is published on the CAA website. For proposals being considered under the old CAP 725 process, we have asked the CAA to ensure that the final proposals submitted to it for approval are also published on its website. As agreed with CAA, any airspace change sponsor who had launched their public consultation on their proposal before 2 January 2018 is being assessed against the requirements of CAP725 and the Air Navigation Guidance 2014.

Blue Badge Scheme: Disability Living Allowance

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether levels of payment of Disabled Living Allowance are used to assess applications for Blue Badges.

Jesse Norman: A person who receives the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance is eligible for a Blue Badge under the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000, as amended. Similarly, a person will be eligible if they receive a score of at least 8 points in relation to the "moving around" activity of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment.

Road Traffic Offences: Sentencing

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of the introduction of a new sentencing regime for motoring offences involving (a) cycling fatalities, (b) serious injuries to cyclists and (c) physical assaults on cyclists.

Jesse Norman: The Government response to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation ‘Driving offences and penalties relating to causing death or serious injury’ was published in October last year. This confirmed proposals to increase the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs from 14 years’ imprisonment to life, and to create a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving. These proposals for changes in the law will be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.

London North Eastern Railway

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that London North Eastern Railway fulfils the commitment made by Virgin Trains East Coast to operate a direct train service between Middlesbrough and London King's Cross; and when the planned start date is for that service.

Joseph Johnson: The Department is working with Network Rail to deliver infrastructure enhancements on the East Coast Main Line planned to be delivered in the early 2020s, and with London North Eastern Railway (LNER) to introduce into service a new fleet of trains through the Intercity Express Programme planned to be fully introduced in 2020. It remains our intention to deliver additional services to Middlesbrough when capacity is available to do so.

Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy safety review, published on 9 March 2018, when his Department plans to publish its response to that review.

Jesse Norman: The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review Call for Evidence closed on 1 June 2018. Over 13,000 responses were submitted and are being considered by the Department for Transport. The findings of the consultation will be published over the coming months.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Public Houses: Closures

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of recent trends in the number of pubs closing on the night time economy.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 05 September 2018



The Department does not make assessments of the effect of the number of pub closures on the night time economy. The Government recognises the importance of pubs to communities and the high street. At Spring Budget 2017, my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of support for pubs in England with their business rates. This provided a £1,000 discount to all pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000. This scheme was extended by an additional year into 2018/19 at Autumn Budget. The Chancellor of the Exchequer also announced at Autumn Budget 2017 that he was freezing all alcohol duties.

Nuclear Power: Safety

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on data security of the manual contingency for nuclear safeguards calculations and reporting.

Richard Harrington: The development of the Safeguards Information Management and Reporting IT System (SIMRS) is on track for testing and operations by the end of 2018. SIMRS will enable the ONR to manage and process the electronic Nuclear Materials Accountancy reports from its dutyholders and submit these, along with other relevant safeguards reports to the IAEA to enable the UK to meet its international obligations, once Euratom safeguards no longer provide this function in the UK. As a contingency measure in the unlikely event that SIMRS is not ready by 29 March 2019, these reports can be manually downloaded by ONR for submission to the IAEA. All information processed by ONR, whether through SIMRS, or manually, will be handled in accordance with standard control measures for Sensitive Nuclear Information, according to its specific security classification. ONR has well established processes for handling Sensitive Nuclear Information through their role as the safety and security regulator of the civil nuclear industry.

Nuclear Power: Safety

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assurances his Department has received from the International Atomic Energy Agency that a manual system for nuclear safeguards calculations and reporting would be compatible with the terms of the UK’s Voluntary Offer Agreement.

Richard Harrington: The development of the Safeguards Information Management and Reporting IT System (SIMRS) is on track for testing and operations by the end of 2018. SIMRS will enable the ONR to manage and process the electronic Nuclear Materials Accountancy reports from its dutyholders and submit these, along with other relevant safeguards reports to the IAEA to enable the UK to meet its international obligations, once Euratom safeguards no longer provide this function in the UK. As a contingency measure in the unlikely event that SIMRS is not ready by 29 March 2019, these reports can be manually downloaded by ONR for submission to the IAEA. The Voluntary Offer Agreement between the UK and IAEA set out the reporting requirements for the UK in terms of the information that must be provided, the format in which it must be provided and the timescales for its submission to the Agency. This contingency for SIMRS has been developed to deliver all the information required in the timeframes and format agreed as part of the VOA. The VOA does not specify the manner in which such reports must be processed by the UK State System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material (SSAC).

Office for Nuclear Regulation: Staff

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff at the Office for Nuclear Regulation are working on development of the manual contingency for nuclear safeguards calculations and reporting.

Richard Harrington: The development of the Safeguards Information Management and Reporting IT System (SIMRS) is on track for testing and operations by the end of 2018. SIMRS will enable the ONR to manage and process the electronic Nuclear Materials Accountancy reports from its dutyholders and submit these, along with other relevant safeguards reports to the IAEA to enable the UK to meet its international obligations, once Euratom safeguards no longer provide this function in the UK. As a contingency measure in the unlikely event that SIMRS is not ready by 29 March 2019, these reports can be manually downloaded by ONR for submission to the IAEA. The development of this contingency for SIMRS is one element of contingency planning, which has drawn on the expertise of staff from across ONR’s State System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material (SSAC) project team to varying degrees.

Nuclear Power: Safety

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the cost to the Office for Nuclear Regulation of the development of a manual system for nuclear safeguards calculations and reporting.

Richard Harrington: The development of the Safeguards Information Management and Reporting IT System (SIMRS) is on track for testing and operations by the end of 2018. SIMRS will enable the ONR to manage and process the electronic Nuclear Materials Accountancy reports from its dutyholders and submit these, along with other relevant safeguards reports to the IAEA to enable the UK to meet its international obligations, once Euratom safeguards no longer provide this function in the UK. As a contingency measure in the unlikely event that SIMRS is not ready by 29 March 2019, these reports can be manually downloaded by ONR for submission to the IAEA. The Department will allocate to the ONR the funding necessary to establish a UK State System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material (SSAC).

Office for Nuclear Regulation: Training

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what training his Department provides to nuclear safeguards inspectors at the Office for Nuclear Regulation on the operation of a manual system for nuclear safeguards calculations and reporting; and what the timeframe is for those inspectors to have passed that training.

Richard Harrington: The development of the Safeguards Information Management and Reporting IT System (SIMRS) is on track for testing and operations by the end of 2018. SIMRS will enable the ONR to manage and process the electronic Nuclear Materials Accountancy reports from its dutyholders and submit these, along with other relevant safeguards reports to the IAEA to enable the UK to meet its international obligations, once Euratom safeguards no longer provide this function in the UK. As a contingency measure in the unlikely event that SIMRS is not ready by 29 March 2019, these reports can be manually downloaded by ONR for submission to the IAEA. Implementation of this contingency for SIMRS will require an understanding of nuclear material accountancy. This is one element of training which is provided to ONR safeguards staff as part of their preparation for delivering a UK State System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material (SSAC) when Euratom safeguards cease to apply in the UK. Training for ONR nuclear safeguards staff is provided by ONR.

Products: Safety

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of the product safety and the enforcement regime in the UK; and (b) effect on the product safety enforcement regime of the UK leaving the EU.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government published its strategy for product safety “Strengthening national capacity for product safety: Strategy 2018-2020” on 10 August. This includes an analysis of the product safety landscape and sets out our plan to further strengthen the UK approach. Ensuring the UK retains an effective product safety regime on EU exit remains a priority and the Office for Product Safety and Standards will continue to work with Local Authority Trading Standards and businesses to ensure that products being placed on the UK market are safe.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Antarctic: Environment Protection

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps are being taken at international level to advocate for the protection of the Antarctic.

Sir Alan Duncan: The United Kingdom is a leading voice in the Antarctic Treaty System. The UK wants to ensure that the Antarctic Treaty continues to be a respected and influential agreement. We play a highly active role in the annual meetings of the Consultative Parties, and in meetings of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) and Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). The UK has consistently lobbied for greater environmental protection of Antarctica and this year has seen UK led initiatives relating to tourism management, terrestrial protected areas and heritage conservation agreed by Treaty Parties. We will continue to press for the full implementation of the Treaty's Environmental Protocol which prohibits commercial mining and protects vulnerable areas, animals and plants.Within CCAMLR the UK is committed to establishing a representative network of marine protected areas around Antarctica. The UK led the proposal for the South Orkney Islands Southern Shelf Marine Protected Area (MPA), which was the first MPA agreed by CCAMLR in 2009. The UK also successfully led a proposal to protect marine areas newly exposed by ice shelf retreat or collapse, and after the massive iceberg broke off from the Larsen Ice Shelf last year, the UK secured protective measures for the area of sea exposed by the ice. The UK also strongly supported the designation of the Ross Sea region MPA, agreed in 2016 and is a co-proponent of the proposals to establish MPAs in the Weddell Sea and East Antarctica, which are under consideration at the 37th CCAMLR meeting in October 2018.

Nicaragua: Religious Freedom

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Government of Nicaragua on respect for religious freedom in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: We do not consider freedom of religion an issue in Nicaragua at this time. The UK has made representations to the Nicaraguan government welcoming the mediation role of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference in political dialogue, and condemned the violence in the country, particularly the excessive use of force by the authorities and pro-government armed groups.

Laos: Religious Freedom

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Laos counterpart on potential legislative changes which threaten freedom of religion and belief in that country.

Mark Field: We raise human rights concerns on a regular basis with the Lao government both bilaterally and through multilateral fora. I visited Laos on 24 and 25 August and raised human rights as part of a UK-Laos Political Dialogue.Regarding specific concerns over restrictions on the right to freedom of religion or belief, we raised these as part of Laos’ most recent Universal Periodic Review in 2015. This issue was also on the agenda at the annual EU-Laos Human Rights Dialogue in March 2018, where individual cases of concern were included in the discussion.​

Afghanistan: Visits Abroad

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date was the former Foreign Secretary, the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip's recent visit to Afghanistan was first discussed.

Mark Field: ​The former Foreign Secretary visited Afghanistan on 25 June. Following the recent ceasefires in Afghanistan, and with elections due later this year, this was a timely opportunity to show support for recent positive developments and to take stock of progress and the UK's supportive role in providing peace and stability to Afghanistan (full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-flies-into-kabul-to-support-signs-of-progress-in-afghanistan). The visit took place ahead of a National Security Council (NSC) discussion on Afghanistan on 26 June. We do not discuss operational planning of Foreign Secretary visits.Prior to the Foreign Secretary's visit, the last meeting between UK and Afghan government ministers was during the visit to London on 5-8 June of Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Visits Abroad

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date was the final schedule for former the Foreign Secretary's visit to Afghanistan was confirmed.

Mark Field: The former Foreign Secretary visited Afghanistan on 25 June. Following the recent ceasefires in Afghanistan, and with elections due later this year, this was a timely opportunity to show support for recent positive developments and to take stock of progress and the UK's supportive role in providing peace and stability to Afghanistan (full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-flies-into-kabul-to-support-signs-of-progress-in-afghanistan). The visit took place ahead of a National Security Council (NSC) discussion on Afghanistan on 26 June. We do not discuss operational planning of Foreign Secretary visits.Prior to the Foreign Secretary's visit, the last meeting between UK and Afghan government ministers was during the visit to London on 5-8 June of Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Visits Abroad

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, from which airport the former Foreign Secretary departed from for his visit to Afghanistan on 25 June 2018.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, prior to the former Foreign Secretary's visit to Afghanistan on 25 June 2018, when the last meeting was between Ministers of the Afghan and UK Governments.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for how many hours the former Foreign Secretary was in Afghanistan on his visit of 25 June; and what proportion of that time was spent in meetings.

Mark Field: ​The former Foreign Secretary visited Afghanistan on 25 June. Following the recent ceasefires in Afghanistan, and with elections due later this year, this was a timely opportunity to show support for recent positive developments and to take stock of progress and the UK's supportive role in providing peace and stability to Afghanistan (full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-flies-into-kabul-to-support-signs-of-progress-in-afghanistan). The visit took place ahead of a National Security Council (NSC) discussion on Afghanistan on 26 June. We do not discuss operational planning of Foreign Secretary visits.Prior to the Foreign Secretary's visit, the last meeting between UK and Afghan government ministers was during the visit to London on 5-8 June of Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive of Afghanistan.

Ukraine: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Lugansk People's Republic law #211-II on the freedom of conscience and religious association.

Sir Alan Duncan: We are deeply concerned by reports on the human rights situation in the self-proclaimed "Luhansk People's Republic" in non-government controlled eastern Ukraine, including infringements of freedom of religion and belief. It is essential that unhindered access is granted for international humanitarian organisations to the non-government controlled areas of eastern Ukraine. We continue to call on Russia to use its considerable influence over the separatists to ensure respect of international human rights and humanitarian law. The UK also continues to raise within multilateral forums the need for UN General Assembly resolutions on Ukraine and recommendations contained in the reports of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), including the protection of freedom of religion and belief in Non-Government controlled eastern Ukraine, to be fully implemented.

Ukraine: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the international community is taking to ensure that the freedom of religion or belief is protected in the Lugansk region of eastern Ukraine.

Sir Alan Duncan: We continue to stress the need for all parties to fully implement the UN General Assembly resolutions on Ukraine and recommendations contained in the reports of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), including the protection of freedom of religion and belief in non-government controlled eastern Ukraine. At the Human Rights Council in June, the UK and EU raised serious concerns about ongoing human rights violations in non-government controlled eastern Ukraine and Crimea. It is essential that independent investigations take place to deliver accountability for all such allegations. The UK also provides funding to the OHCHR in support of their work monitoring Human Rights violations.

Pakistan: Blasphemy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on strengthening the legal procedures relating to religious blasphemy charges in that country to protect against frivolous accusations.

Mark Field: We remain deeply concerned by the misuse of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan. The blasphemy laws are used against Pakistanis belonging to all faiths although religious minorities are disproportionately affected. This is particularly concerning given the harsh penalties for blasphemy, including the death penalty.We have regularly raised our human rights concerns with the previous Government of Pakistan at a senior level, and have urged them to take steps to prevent the misuse of the blasphemy laws. My colleague, the Minister of State for Commonwealth and the UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed the issue of freedom of religion or belief with the former Minister of Interior in February 2018. During my visit to Pakistan in November 2017, I raised discrimination against religious minorities with the Ministry of Human Rights.We will continue to press the new Government of Pakistan to adhere to its international obligations and uphold the rule of law.

Nepal: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether British Embassy staff in Nepal receive training on local religions, patterns of discrimination and conflict between religious groups and the interaction of religion with society.

Mark Field: ​British Embassy staff in Nepal covering human rights receive training on international human rights issues, including freedom of religion and belief. We have also arranged multi faith breakfast meetings with religious leaders to allow staff to explore religious themes with faith leaders. This is further supported by engagement, by our staff, with NGOs, civil society and academics working on religious freedom issues, both in Nepal and London.Online learning on Religion and Diplomacy is available to all Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff.

China: Prisoners

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has plans to support the creation of an international and independent review of the issue of organ harvesting in China.

Mark Field: We are aware of reports that suggest a process of involuntary organ removal may be taking place in China, including suggestions that minority and religious groups are being specifically targeted. The British government continues activity to support the Declaration of Istanbul (May 2008), which encourages all countries to draw up legal and professional frameworks to govern organ donation and transplantation activities.As the Minister for Europe and the Americas stated in a Westminster Hall debate on 11 October 2016: “Although I do not doubt the need to maintain close scrutiny of organ transplant practices in China, we believe that the evidence base is not sufficiently strong to substantiate claims about the systematic harvesting of organs from minority groups. Indeed, based on all the evidence available to us, we cannot conclude that this practice of “organ harvesting” is definitely happening in China.”

Pakistan: Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165463 on Pakistan: Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, what the independent third party is referred to in that answer.

Mark Field: The independent third party referred to in the Answer of 23 July 2018 to PQ165463 is Ecorys. It is an international research and consulting company which conducts monitoring and evaluation for the Pakistan Conflict Security and Stability Fund.

Burundi: Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish a list of those implementing organisations referred to as various on page one of the Conflict Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) Programme Summary document for the CSSF Great Lakes Programme for the programmes entitled (a) Human rights in DRC elections and (b) Monitoring and responding to conflict risks in Burundi.

Harriett Baldwin: ​The implementing organisations referred to as 'various' are:(a) Human rights in DRC elections:Avocats sans Frontieres (ASF)Search For Common Ground(b) Monitoring and responding to conflict risks in Burundi:Crisis Management Initiative (CMI)Peace Direct

India: Charities

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the challenges faced by Christian charities operating in India; and whether he has made any representations on that matter to the Indian Government.

Mark Field: We are aware of the challenges international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) face operating in India and are also aware of concerns regarding the Government of India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office network in India monitors developments closely. Officials have remained in close contact with NGOs and minority groups, including Christians.

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) Storm Shadow, (b) Brimstone and (c) Paveway weapons exported from the UK to Saudi Arabia that have been used (a) deliberately or (b) accidentally against civilian targets in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The UK has issued export licences for a number of weapons systems and components for end use in Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria. We are unable to provide precise figures for the number of weapons exported. Nor do the Coalition publish information on which weapons are used for specific air strikes. The UK is not a member of the Saudi-Led Coalition and we do not have any role in setting Coalition policy, or executing air strikes in Yemen. We will not issue an export licence for Saudi Arabia, or any other country, if we assess there is a clear risk the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.

Iran: Political Prisoners

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Government of Iran on the treatment of political prisoners in Evin prison; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Iran's human rights record continues to be of serious concern to the UK, and the Foreign and Commonwelath Office has designated it as one of its Human Rights Priority Countries. We regularly raise human rights with the Iranians at all levels as I did during my recent visit to Tehran and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record on all human rights issues. In January, the previous Foreign Secretary discussed with Foreign Minister Zarif disturbing reports of ill treatment in Iranian prisons of those detained for participating in the recent protests. The Foreign Secretary particularly emphasised that international obligations on human rights should be observed. Additionally, we remain deeply concerned about our dual nationals detained in Iran (some of whom are in Evin prison) and continue to lobby the Iranian Government at the highest levels at every opportunity to request consular access for officials, access to lawyers and appropriate medical care.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Saudi Arabian Government on the Saudi-led coalition attack on a bus in Saada, Yemen on 9 August 2018.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Al-Jubeir on 16 August and urged a quick and transparent investigation. I also spoke to the Saudi Foreign Minister on 4 September.On 1 September, the Coalition announced the outcome of this investigation, their regret and action to address the recommendations of that investigation. We welcome this acknowledgement and these steps.

Yemen: Human Rights

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to support the renewal of the mandate of the group of eminent experts on Yemen at the forthcoming UN Human Rights Council meeting.

Alistair Burt: The recent report from the Group of Eminent Experts further underlines the deeply concerning human rights situation in Yemen and the importance of reaching a political solution to this conflict. We are carefully considering the contents of the report ahead of the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council.As we have consistently, we will continue to emphasise to all members of the Coalition the vital importance of compliance with international humanitarian law, press for action to address the humanitarian crisis, and encourage all parties to engage in the UN-led political process in good faith.

Hassan Mushaima

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Government of Bahrain on the political imprisonment of Hassan Mushaima and alleged abuses of his human rights during his imprisonment.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Embassy in Bahrain have raised the case of Hassan Musaima with the Bahraini authorities at senior levels. The Bahraini authorities have assured us that Mr Mushaima has access to his medication and medical facilities. We continue to encourage those with concerns to report them to the appropriate human rights oversight body. We also continue to encourage the oversight bodies to carry out swift and thorough investigations into any such claims.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made during the summer recess on securing the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We remain very concerned about all our dual nationals detained in Iran. We continue to raise their cases with the Iranian Government at every opportunity, as I did with the Deputy Foreign Minister in Tehran recently and make decisions in line with what we believe will produce the best outcomes in their cases. I refer the Honourable Lady to the Foreign Secretary’s comments in the House on 4 September.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made with his overseas counterparts on a peace agreement in South Sudan.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK welcomes recent developments in the ongoing South Sudan peace talks in Khartoum, including the signing of agreements on security and governance issues and a permanent ceasefire. We are working with Regional countries, who have a vital role to play in driving forward progress.Along with our Troika (Norway and the USA) and EU partners, we are making clear our expectations for a clear and realistic implementation plan for the peace agreement; the inclusion of a wide range of stakeholders in ongoing discussions (including civil society, religious leaders and ethnic minorities); and robust and independent monitoring of the ceasefire.Meaningful progress is possible only if the perpetrators of violence know they will be held to account. To this end, the UK played a leading role in the UN Security Council to secure targeted sanctions and an arms embargo on 13 July. We continue to explore all available avenues for taking action against those who undermine the path to peace.

Antarctic: Marine Protected Areas

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Antarctic Ocean Commission on an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary in the Waddell Sea.

Sir Alan Duncan: The United Kingdom is a leading voice in the Antarctic Treaty System and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the international bodies that oversee activities in Antarctica. The UK remains committed to establishing a representative network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) around Antarctica, having led the agreement on the first MPA around South Orkneys Southern Shelf. The UK is a co-proponent for MPA proposals in the Weddell Sea and in East Antarctica, both of which will be presented to the next CCAMLR meeting in October for adoption.

Bahrain: Human Rights

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of (a) human rights in Bahrain, (b) standards in Bahrain's prisons and (c) Bahrain's compliance with the United Nations Charter of Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Bahrain is a Human Rights Priority Country and as such is included our 2017 Annual Human Rights Report. The UK enjoys a close relationship with the Government of Bahrain which allows us to speak honestly about a range of issues, including human rights. Where we have concerns on specific issues, including prison conditions, we raise these with the Bahraini authorities. We encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to report these to the relevant human rights oversight bodies. We encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.

Canada and Saudi Arabia: Trade Agreements

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart on trade relations between that country and Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary and officials have been in touch with both Governments to express our concern over the dispute and its potential implications. We have and will continue to urge restraint and de-escalation through the appropriate diplomatic channels.The Government continues to promote human rights across the Middle East, both bilaterally and with key international partners such as Canada. The UK frequently expresses concerns on human rights issues to Saudi Arabia at the most senior levels. We can only bring about the changes we would like to see by working with countries. We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns, and we make this point very clearly in public and in private.The UK is a close partner to both Canada and Saudi Arabia and enjoys positive and constructive diplomatic relations with both countries. It is in the UK’s interest that we have both public and private conversations on matters of mutual concern.

Middle East: Human Rights

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support his Canadian counterpart in promoting human rights across the Middle East.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and officials have been in touch with both Governments to express our concern over the dispute and its potential implications. We have and will continue to urge restraint and de-escalation through the appropriate diplomatic channels.The Government continues to promote human rights across the Middle East, both bilaterally and with key international partners such as Canada. The UK frequently expresses concerns on human rights issues to Saudi Arabia at the most senior levels. We can only bring about the changes we would like to see by working with countries. We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns, and we make this point very clearly in public and in private.The UK is a close partner to both Canada and Saudi Arabia and enjoys positive and constructive diplomatic relations with both countries. It is in the UK’s interest that we have both public and private conversations on matters of mutual concern.

Canada and Saudi Arabia: Diplomatic Relations

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes in diplomatic relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia on the Government's relationship with those countries.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and officials have been in touch with both Governments to express our concern over the dispute and its potential implications. We have and will continue to urge restraint and de-escalation through the appropriate diplomatic channels.The Government continues to promote human rights across the Middle East, both bilaterally and with key international partners such as Canada. The UK frequently expresses concerns on human rights issues to Saudi Arabia at the most senior levels. We can only bring about the changes we would like to see by working with countries. We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns, and we make this point very clearly in public and in private.The UK is a close partner to both Canada and Saudi Arabia and enjoys positive and constructive diplomatic relations with both countries. It is in the UK’s interest that we have both public and private conversations on matters of mutual concern.

Israa al-Ghomgham

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the forthcoming trial of Israa al-Ghomgham in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: ​We are monitoring closely the case of Israa al-Ghomgham and other political activists. We continue to raise our concerns on human rights with the Saudi authorities in private.

Cabinet Office

Prosperity Fund

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will provide a list of the third-party organisations that have received funding from the Prosperity Fund in the the last 12 months to design or implement projects overseas.

Mr David Lidington: The information required to answer this question is not currently held centrally by the Joint Funds Unit for the Prosperity Fund and cannot be collated accurately in the time available, or at reasonable cost. In line with transparency policies, departments delivering Prosperity Fund programmes routinely publish business cases including financial and commercial information once approved.

Drugs: Death

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of deaths caused by the drugs (a) GHB and (b) GHL in each of the last three years.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 66.75 KB)

Official Publications

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government currently has any compiled reports which have been awaiting publication for over 6 months.

Mr David Lidington: This information is not collated or held centrally.

Government Chief Security Officer: Public Appointments

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the post of Government Chief Security Officer has been filled; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Dowden: The recruitment process for the role of Government Chief Security Officer is ongoing.

Government Digital Service: Staff

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed by the Government Digital Service.

Oliver Dowden: At 31st of July 2018, the Government Digital Service employed 740 Civil Servants. Included in that figure are seventeen summer interns.

Cabinet Office: Brexit

Tom Brake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse has been of his Department hiring additional staff to cover issues related to the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Lidington: Work relating to the UK leaving the EU, is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is undertaking detailed work and is primarily responsible for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU.Cabinet Office staff continue to work closely with officials in the Department for Exiting the as European Union.Members of staff across Cabinet Office also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. But, given the interactions between EU Exit work and the departments other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure of cost.

Electoral Register

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information he holds on whether there has been an increase in the number of people who have registered to vote anonymously in 2018.

Chloe Smith: In March this year, Parliament passed Government proposals for changes to anonymous voter registration. The changes will make it easier for an estimated 12,000 survivors of domestic abuse living in refuges, as well as those living elsewhere, to register to vote anonymously. The Government does not hold records of the number of applications to register that were made anonymously. This information is held by local Electoral Registration Officers, within Local Authorities.

Electorate: Proof of Identity

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the timely drafting of statutory instruments relating to the 2019 voter ID pilots; and whether the Government has put in place a target date by which it plans to have published those instruments.

Chloe Smith: The Government is committed to making sure that our electoral system is fit for the future. Vulnerabilities cannot be allowed to undermine the integrity of our democracy. To have a deeper understanding of how voter ID will work on a wider scale and what works best for voters, we plan to continue to pilot voter ID at next year’s local elections. A provisional timetable for the 2019 pilots including consultation on and completion of the enabling statutory instruments can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prospectus-on-electoral-integrity-pilots-in-may-2019

Poverty

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what performance criteria there are in the Government's single departmental plans to monitor progress on meeting Sustainable Development Goal 1.

Oliver Dowden: Individual departments are responsible for indicating in their Single Departmental Plans how their policies and programmes will contribute to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals and tracking their progress. A number of departments have cited policies and programmes which will contribute towards the delivery of Goal 1, in particular; the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for International Development and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. They are available on https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/a-country-that-works-for-everyone-the-governments-plan&sa=D&source=hangouts&ust=1536321038595000&usg=AFQjCNFsUcDJtdySnbg2gWrMXfkJTF46iA

Food

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what performance criteria there are in the Government's single departmental plans to monitor progress on meeting Sustainable Development Goal 2.

Oliver Dowden: Individual departments are responsible for indicating in their Single Departmental Plans how their policies and programmes will contribute to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals and tracking their progress. A number of departments have cited policies and programmes which will contribute towards the delivery of Goal 2, in particular; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for International Development.They are available on https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/a-country-that-works-for-everyone-the-governments-plan&sa=D&source=hangouts&ust=1536321038595000&usg=AFQjCNFsUcDJtdySnbg2gWrMXfkJTF46iA

Education

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what performance criteria there are in the Government's single departmental plans to monitor progress on meeting Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Oliver Dowden: Individual departments are responsible for indicating in their Single Departmental Plans how their policies and programmes will contribute to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals and tracking their progress. A number of departments have cited policies and programmes which will contribute towards the delivery of Goal 4, in particular; the Department for Education (including the Gender Equalities Office), the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for International Development. They are available on https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/a-country-that-works-for-everyone-the-governments-plan&sa=D&source=hangouts&ust=1536321038595000&usg=AFQjCNFsUcDJtdySnbg2gWrMXfkJTF46iA

Civil Service: Devolution

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has plans to increase the level of understanding  in the civil service of devolved areas of policy making.

Oliver Dowden: It is absolutely critical that civil servants understand the unique nature of the devolution settlements and that they have the skills to operate confidently in an increasingly complex devolution landscape, particularly in the light of EU Exit. My department leads a programme of work, “Devolution and You” which aims to increase devolution capability across the Civil Service. The program is a cross-administration and cross-Whitehall campaign led by Cabinet Office in partnership with the Scottish and Welsh Governments, it is supported by the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Office. The campaign aims to upskill civil servants across the Civil Service by strengthening understanding of the devolution settlements through bespoke training, communications and interchange programmes. Civil Service Learning alongside the Policy Profession also offer a range of training programmes to embed devolution learning and increase civil servants understanding of policy making in relation to devolved and reserved matters.Each nation of the UK leads and hosts an annual SCS conference to learn from each other and build networks across the Policy Profession.Civil Service Learning provide a range of central learning opportunities, including online and face-to-face training, for all civil servants on Devolution & Intergovernmental Working.The online Devolution & Intergovernmental Working module is for all new and existing civil servants.Available to civil servants are the EU exit: devolution settlements and intergovernmental working events. Delegates hear the views of Permanent Secretaries, and other senior civil servants from the devolved administrations and territorial offices, on intergovernmental relations within the current political climate.The Fast Stream Induction programme includes a devolution workshop as part of their induction offer.

Cabinet Office: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in his Department have been assigned to work in relation to the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Lidington: Work relating to the UK leaving the EU, is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is undertaking detailed work and is primarily responsible for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU.Cabinet Office staff continue to work closely with officials in the Department for Exiting the European Union.Members of staff across Cabinet Office also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. But, given the interactions between EU Exit work and the departments other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Department of Health and Social Care

Food: Safety

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) consumers and (b) producers of the frozen vegetable food scare.

Steve Brine: Consumers who have purchased a product affected by the Listeriosis outbreak should return the product to where they have bought it from for a full refund. All consumers using frozen food should follow the cooking instructions and ensure it is thoroughly cooked before serving. Producers of frozen food should continue to follow good manufacturing practices, conduct appropriate product testing regimes and ensure all frozen food is labelled with clear cooking instructions. The Food Standards Agency continues to monitor the situation and will take further action if required.

Kidney Diseases

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) guidance and (b) support on (i) diet, (ii) exercise and (iii) other means of recovery is offered to patients who have suffered kidney failure.

Steve Brine: NHS Choices provides a range of advice on diet, exercise and lifestyle for people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), as well as information for those who have been affected by acute kidney injury (AKI). CKD can result in kidney failure in some cases and AKI can range from minor loss of kidney function to complete kidney failure. The pages for CKS and AKI, which also provide links to patient support organisations, can be found at the following links: www.nhs.uk/conditions/kidney-disease/ www.nhs.uk/conditions/acute-kidney-injury/ NHS England’s ‘Think Kidney’ campaign also provides a wealth of information for patients and professionals about CKD and AKI, including patient literature which highlights important steps people can take to maintain kidney health and provides advice about living with kidney disease. The ‘Think Kidney’ website can be found at the following link: www.thinkkidneys.nhs.uk

Prescription Drugs

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the waste of prescription medicine.

Steve Brine: The Department commissioned the York Health Economics Consortium and the School of Pharmacy at the University of London to carry out research to determine the scale, causes and costs of waste medicines in England. The report, ‘Evaluation of the Scale, Causes and Costs of Waste Medicines’, was published on 23 November 2010. This found that the gross cost of unused prescription medicines in primary and community care in the NHS in England in 2009 was £300 million a year and that up to £150 million of this was avoidable. The report is available at the following link: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1350234/ A number of initiatives have been taken, which NHS England expects will directly impact on medicines wastage. This includes the deployment of clinical pharmacists in general practice and in care homes to undertake medicines reviews. In addition, work to address problematic polypharmacy and ensure appropriate de-prescribing of medicines and addressing variation through the use of RightCare principles is also expected to contribute to a reduction in medicines waste. NHS England is also leading on the Medicines Value Programme, the aim being to improve value in terms of improving patient outcomes while maintaining an affordable medicines bill. While recognising the importance of reducing medicines wastage from a value for money perspective, the key to securing a reduction in medicines wastage is implementation of the principles of medicines optimisation, ensuring that each patient receives the right medicine, at the right dosage, at the right time.

Chronic Illnesses: Young People

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of young people diagnosed with chronic illnesses in the last 12 months.

Steve Brine: No estimate has been made.

Smoking

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people have taken up smoking in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The Department does not hold this information centrally.

Department of Health and Social Care: Annual Reports

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which agencies and other public bodies accountable to him will not have published their annual report and accounts for 2017-2018 by 31 July 2018; and what the reasons are for each such body not having done so by that date.

Caroline Dinenage: A list of agencies and other public bodies which are accountable to the Department of Health and Social Care are listed on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations All accounts that are published will appear on the bodies’ websites. As per the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, there is no legal requirement for agencies or other public bodies to publish their accounts before the January following year end.

Aortic Aneurysm

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NICE's draft guideline entitled Abdominal aortic aneurysm: diagnosis and management, published in May 2018, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the interventions for patients with complex abdominal aortic aneurysms there listed under the term Complex EVAR; and what comparative assessment he has made of the effect on patient outcomes of (a) customised fenestrated endografts and (b) physician-modified endografts for complex abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Steve Brine: We have made no such assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service. NICE’s guidance is based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and is developed through extensive engagement with stakeholders. NICE has not yet published its final guideline on abdominal aortic aneurysm and has recently consulted publicly on its draft guidance. NICE will take the comments it has received in response to the consultation fully into account in finalising its guideline.

Aortic Aneurysm

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2018 to Questions 159561 and 159563, what type of data has been included to inform the Abdominal aortic aneurysm: diagnosis and management draft guidance; and whether that data includes up-to-date registry data.

Steve Brine: In line with its published processes and methods, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considered a wide range of published evidence in developing its draft recommendations. This included high-quality United Kingdom and international randomised trials as well as a range of observational studies, some based on national and regional registries. Up-to-date registry data from the UK National Vascular Registry (2017) were among the key inputs on which the health economic model developed to support decision-making relating to the use of endovascular and open surgical repair of aneurysms relied. Full details of included evidence are available in the draft documentation which is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/gid-cgwave0769/documents/html-content NICE is considering the comments received during consultation and expects to publish its final recommendations to the National Health Service in November 2018.

Food

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans for Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 to form part of the common rule book envisaged in the White Paper, The Future Relationship Between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published in July 2018, Cm 9593.

Steve Brine: The content of the common rule book will form part of ongoing discussions between Her Majesty’s Government and the T50 taskforce, to ensure that the content of the common rule book account for a robust and safe food system between the United Kingdom and European Union. The rule book will only include those rules necessary to provide for frictionless trade at the border. The specific regulations which are considered for the rule book will form a part of these ongoing discussions.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will make it its policy to fund PrEP from central government funding for all at risk groups.

Steve Brine: Central government does not commission HIV, sexual health or prevention services directly. NHS England is funding the three year HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Impact trial which will provide NHS England and local authority commissioners with data to inform the future commissioning of a clinically and cost effective PrEP programme. The trial began in October 2017 and full results will be available in early 2021. NHS England and local authority commissioners are already working together to use the provisional information generated by the trial to begin work to prepare for future commissioning of PrEP.

Defibrillators: Medway

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of publically accessible defibrillators in Medway.

Steve Brine: The Department does not centrally hold the requested information. NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group has been advised by the local council that there are defibrillators located across Medway, including at the Council’s Gun Wharf Office and sports centres in Medway Park, Strood, Hoo, Splashes and The Strand. This list is not definitive. Steps are being taken to improve access to information on public access defibrillators (PADs). The British Heart Foundation (BHF) funded a project to determine if it was feasible and affordable to establish a national database of PADs and to make this available to ambulance services; the project concluded it was feasible and the BHF has now committed the funds to make it happen, and two ambulance services are currently involved in determining the structure and function of the database. This database will later be offered to all services once shown to be safe and effective. The principal intention is to make the data available to and controlled by ambulance services, so that PAD location information is readily available when someone makes a 999 call. The BHF is conducting the development of the database with full professional guidance and with the support of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives.

NHS

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will adopt Macmillan Cancer Support's five recommendations as recently published on its website page entitled Support our vision for the future of the NHS.

Steve Brine: Following the Government announcement of a new financial settlement for the National Health Service, NHS England is consulting cancer stakeholders on their experiences and priorities for cancer care in England, including evidence of what has worked. This will feed into the wider NHS ten-year plan to improve services and care, build on the progress already made in implementing the recommendations of the independent Cancer Taskforce’s 2015 report (Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A strategy for England 2015-2020) and address the five points in Macmillan Cancer Support’s vision for the future of the NHS.

Glucose: Monitoring

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the effect of clinical commissioning groups' commissioning of FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring technology on patients' access to that technology throughout England.

Steve Brine: New figures from NHS England indicate that the majority, around 140 out of 195 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have now approved FreeStyle Libre or uptake. Earlier this year NHS England wrote to CCGs reminding them of their responsibilities and of the guidance that exists when it comes to flash glucose monitoring, and other treatments for people with type 1 diabetes. NHS England continues to work with CCGs to encourage them to adopt best practice.

Internet: Bullying

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of (a) internet trolling and (b) online abuse on people’s psychological wellbeing.

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have to ensure that social media companies (a) tackle online trolls and (b) improve the reporting process for victims of that abuse.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This Government is clear that online abuse of any kind is unacceptable. Social media can be a way of making positive social connections, and should never be used as a platform to abuse or bully individuals. Evidence has shown links between certain increases in social media use and poorer mental health, however it is not clear whether increased use causes poorer mental health. For example, it is possible that poorer mental health drives an increase in use of social media. To better understand the relationship between social media and the mental health of children and young people up to 25 years old, the Chief Medical Officer is leading a review to examine all relevant international research in the area. The review will inform a report from the Chief Medical Officer, expected for publication next year. To help tackle some of these issues, we have talked to social media companies about taking concrete action, particularly in the areas of improved age verification for underage children, tackling long periods online and harmful content. We understand that companies have existing work in place in these areas, and that there are significant challenges, but we are keen for further action to be taken. This is why the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (the. Rt. hon. Jeremy Hunt) asked social media companies to set out their formal positions on this work and how they envisage we could work together to make further progress. We have received a number of responses and we are working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as we consider our next steps, and they work with the Home Office on a White Paper on Internet Harms, following their consultation on internet safety.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme provides improved patient access to new and clinically effective medicines.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to meet representatives of patient organisations before the heads of agreement for the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme is published.

Steve Brine: The Government is committed to supporting the United Kingdom life sciences industry and ensuring that patients can access cost-effective innovative medicines and technologies at a price the National Health Service can afford. Discussions on the 2019 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme have been constructive and we are continuing to make progress. During the pre-negotiation engagement phase the Department sought views from a wide range of organisations, including bodies representing patients, which informed our objectives for this agreement. We will seek to meet again with patient charities to discuss the development of a full agreement once an outline deal is reached. Due to commercial sensitivities the Department cannot share further details until the point where a heads of agreement is reached.

Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust Independent Review

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the date on which he was informed that eight of the 11 members of the Liverpool Community Trust Board failed to give evidence to the Kirkup inquiry; what powers are available to require people appointed to public positions to give evidence to public inquiries; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: On 4 September 2018, Dr Bill Kirkup confirmed that, of those invited to assist the independent review into Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust panel through an interview, eight members of Liverpool Community Trust Board, did not attend: Frances MolloyChairWally Brown CBENon-Executive DirectorSue Ryrie MBENon-Executive DirectorEileen QuinnNon-Executive DirectorPaul PattersonNon-Executive DirectorGary AndrewsFinance DirectorMichelle PorteousHR DirectorHelen LockettNurse Director The only Non-Executive Director who did attend was Jack Stopforth. In the case of statutory inquiries, there are legal powers for the inquiry to require the production of evidence or compel the attendance of witnesses. In the case of a non-statutory inquiry such as the Kirkup Review, there is no power to compel people appointed to public positions to give evidence.

European Food Safety Authority: Membership

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the Government's policy is on UK membership of the European Food Safety Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

Steve Brine: United Kingdom Government Departments are currently working together to understand the impact that withdrawal from the European Union will have on our relationship with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and other EU Agencies. The EFSA provides independent scientific advice and risk assessments covering a wide range of policy areas. Options for the future of risk assessment and scientific advice in the UK are being developed and assessed by the Government. The UK has a long tradition of close scientific collaboration with EFSA which we greatly value and hope to continue in the future. The nature of the UK’s future relationship with EFSA will be subject to forthcoming negotiations and we are exploring opportunities to redefine a close working relationship with EFSA.

Royal Liverpool Hospital: Construction

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his visit on 18 May 2018 to the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust to discuss construction of the new Royal Liverpool Hospital, what assessment he has made of the timeline for when (a) construction will resume on that hospital and (b) that hospital will open; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: The Government remains absolutely committed to getting the new Royal Liverpool Hospital built as quickly as possible and officials are working closely with the existing lenders and the Trust to achieve this. There is a key milestone on the 30 September, the longstop date set in the existing Private Finance Initiative contact for the completed hospital to be handed over to the Trust. This milestone is not now going to be met. Once this date has passed the Trust has the option of declaring that the project is in default, which would be followed by the contract being terminated. The Government has indicated to the Trust that it will support them in whatever next steps they need to take, be it termination or some other option, to ensure the project is not delayed further. The timetable for opening the hospital will be an important factor in deciding on the best route forward and we are working towards achieving a decision on this by the end of September. To date, significant concerns have been identified with work carried out by Carillion, and the investigation of this has resulted in delays.

NHS Business Services Authority

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many penalty charge notices for (a) NHS prescriptions and (b) dental treatment have been issued by the NHS Business Services Authority to people claiming employment and support allowance in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The following table shows the number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued to people who have ticked the Income Related Employment Support Allowance (IR ESA) exemption box on the FP10 prescription and FP17 dental form and subsequently received a PCN as entitlement could not be confirmed. Checking against Department for Work and Pensions benefits became part of the prescription exemption checking process in 2017 so no data is held prior to this. YearDental (IR ESA only)Prescription (Px category H)January – December 20137,4520January – December 201433,5170January – December 201539,2800January – December 201639,3810January – December 201741,654160,257Total161,284160,257 Note: On the FP10 prescription form, exemption category H combines Income Support and IR ESA therefore we are unable to provide figures solely on IR ESA.

General Practitioners

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have been removed from their GP lists by Capita in each of the last 10 years; and of those patients how many by (a) age and (b) gender have subsequently resubscribed to the same GP list.

Steve Brine: NHS England has advised that the number of patients removed from their general practitioner lists by Capita is not held centrally.

Mental Health Services: Children

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the provision of mental health support services to vulnerable children after 2021.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Children’s mental health, including for the most vulnerable, remains a priority for this Government and will continue to form a key part of National Health Service provision as we look beyond 2021. In June, the Prime Minister announced her intention to work with the NHS to develop a 10-year plan for the future of the health service, underpinned by a five-year funding offer which will see the NHS budget grow by over £20 billion a year in real terms by 2023-24. The NHS will produce a new long-term plan led by clinicians – setting out how the money will be used to deliver our vision for the health service and to ensure every penny is well spent. The plan will be developed by the NHS, working closely with the Government and will be published later this year. Better access to mental health services is one of the priorities to help achieve the Government’s commitment for parity of esteem between mental and physical health. This will be a significant step forward towards improving, and continuing to deliver, high-quality mental health support services.

Learning Disability: Community Care

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many day centres for adults with complex learning abilities are in receipt of funding from his Department.

Caroline Dinenage: Information on the number of day centres for adults with complex learning disabilities which receive funding from the Department directly or indirectly is not collected centrally. Some centres may receive funding from local authorities derived from central government grants.

General Practitioners: Data Protection

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a comprehensive review of the financial implications of the General Data Protection Regulation on GP practices.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the guidance his Department provides to GPs on charging third parties for requesting subject access to patient medical records in respect of changes brought in with GDPR.

Steve Brine: The implications of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on general practitioner (GP) practices have been raised with NHS England as part of the wider General Medical Services contract review discussions. The Information Governance Alliance (IGA) co-ordinates advice on information governance issues to the health and care system on the behalf of the Department, NHS England, NHS Digital and Public Health England. The IGA has published a number of guidance documents to support compliance with the GDPR requirements by National Health Service organisations. The guidance documents will be kept under review and revised as necessary. However, as directed by the GDPR, GP practices will not be allowed to charge third parties for subject access to patient medical records.

Care Homes: Closures

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) nursing homes and (b) residential care homes have closed in each year since 2015.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) nursing home beds and (b) residential care home beds have closed in each year since 2015.

Caroline Dinenage: Data published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) can be used to calculate the net change in the number of nursing and residential homes. The data are summarised in the following tables. Residential homes Start of yearEnd of yearNet change during the year% net change during the year201512,47212,191-281-2.3%201612,19111,968-223-1.8%201711,96811,615-353-2.9% Nursing homes Start of yearEnd of yearNet change during the year% net change during the year20154,7164,648-68-1.4%20164,6484,513-135-2.9%20174,5134,489-24-0.5% Notes: We have classified homes that are registered for both residential and nursing care as nursing homes. Data published by the CQC can be used to calculate the net change in the number of nursing and residential beds. The data are summarised in the following tables. Residential beds Start of yearEnd of yearNet change during the year% net change during the year2015240,767237,769-2,998-1.2%2016237,769239,1181,3490.6%2017239,118237,229-1,889-0.8% Nursing beds Start of yearEnd of yearNet change during the year% net change during the year2015224,665224,024-641-0.3%2016224,024221,205-2,819-1.3%2017221,205222,4161,2110.5% Notes: We have classified homes that are registered for both residential and nursing care as nursing homes. The CQC data do not show the split of nursing and residential beds in such homes.

Blood: Contamination

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the financial effect on victims of contaminated blood of recent changes benefits.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The value of ex-gratia support that the England Infected Blood Support Scheme (EIBSS) pays to beneficiaries historically infected with hepatitis C and/or HIV from National Health Service blood or blood products is not taken into account as income when a benefit assessment is carried out. If an individual beneficiary’s income is reduced for any reason, such as a cut to benefit payments, they may be eligible for additional help from EIBSS through discretionary support payments.

Brain: Injuries

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of traumatic brain injuries that have happened in each year of the last five years.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of traumatic brain injuries that have happened in each NHS trust area in the last 12 months.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost is to his Department of treating an acquired brain injury.

Stephen Barclay: A count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary diagnosis of traumatic brain injury is shown in the following table for the last five years in which data is currently available. YearPrimary diagnosisPrimary or secondary diagnosis2012-1328,73335,2882013-1431,72439,0512014-1535,04843,4402015-1638,74448,6622016-1742,22453,974Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Digital FCE activity for traumatic brain injuries, by National Health Service trusts, is displayed in the attached table owing to its size, and reports on 2016-17 which is the latest available data. An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Information surrounding the average cost of treating an acquired brain injury is not collected centrally.



PQ169131 attached document
(Excel SpreadSheet, 28.34 KB)

Brain: Injuries

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many rehabilitation prescriptions have been issued by the NHS in each year of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: The information requested is not held centrally. NHS England commissions specialised rehabilitation services for patients with the most complex levels of need. Teams within trauma units assess and develop a rehabilitation prescription for patients with Acquired Brain Injury and other injuries. In 2015, NHS England published ‘The Principles and Expectations for Good Adult Rehabilitation’ to support commissioners on delivering rehabilitation care locally, and describes what good rehabilitation looks like and offers a national consensus on the services people should expect. It includes 10 ‘principles and expectations’ that were designed by people who use rehabilitation services, carers, healthcare professionals, commissioners, strategic clinical networks and national clinical directors from NHS England. Furthermore, in 2016, NHS England published further rehabilitation commissioning guidance covering both adults and children, setting a commissioning model, evidence base for the economic benefits of delivering high quality rehabilitation services.

Brain: Injuries

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated for neurorehabilitation in each year of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: This information is not held centrally.

Pharmacy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to provide funding for community pharmacies.

Steve Brine: We are continuing to invest in the development of community pharmacy through the Pharmacy Integration Fund (PhIF). This funding is being used to support the integration of pharmacy within the wider healthcare network and encourage a much greater use of community pharmacy as a first port of call for patients. The PhIF includes two pilot schemes, which direct patients seeking an urgent medicines supply or treatment for minor illnesses directly from NHS 111 to community pharmacy. Funding was also made available by NHS England and Public Health England for the Stay Well Pharmacy campaign, encouraging more frequent use of community pharmacies. In addition to the PhIF, the Quality Payment Scheme, as part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework, is incentivising secure digital connectivity to other parts of the health service and the accreditation of community pharmacies as Healthy Living Pharmacies, ensuring that they are well positioned both to respond to national and local developments in out of hospital care and prevention strategies. NHS England has also recently announced investment of £1 million, to pilot the development of local system leadership for pharmacy within Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships and Integrated Care Systems to support the delivery of high quality and sustainable medicines optimisation at scale and deliver best outcomes for patients.

Pharmacy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of community pharmacies in keeping NHS patients out of hospital.

Steve Brine: The Government is encouraging a much greater use of community pharmacies as a first port of call by patients, thereby helping to relieve pressure on general practitioners and hospitals. Recent evaluations of two pilot schemes, which direct patients seeking urgent medicines supply and treatment for minor illnesses from NHS 111 to community pharmacy, have indicated the contribution community pharmacy can make in this respect. Of the patients using the urgent medicines supply scheme, 19.2% would have otherwise used an urgent care centre, such as accident and emergency, and 17.8% of patients using the minor illness referral scheme would have otherwise used an urgent care centre. Due to the success of these schemes so far, an extension to the urgent medicines supply service has been agreed until 31 March 2018, and three further pilots to the minor illness referral service are due to be launched in the autumn.

Home Care Services: Pay

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support charities facing back-pay demands for sleep-in shift workers.

Caroline Dinenage: On Friday 13 July 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that sleep-in shifts no longer attract the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage. This judgment applies to both past and future sleep-in shifts. The ruling should give clarity to providers, including charities, and social care employees about what shifts attract the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will update their guidance shortly.

Blood Diseases

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the (a) number of people with a blood-borne virus and (b) level of access to (i) screening and (ii) treatment is monitored nationally and locally.

Steve Brine: Data are not collected for all blood borne viruses (BBV). However, Public Health England collects data on the number of people with Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E, Human T-cell virus, and HIV infections in England at national and local level. This includes monitoring universal BBV screening programmes in pregnant women and blood donors. Where available, both national and local data on BBV testing and treatment are published in annual data tables and reports. For example, HIV treatment and care is monitored by PHE through data on attendances and treatment of people attending National Health Service HIV specialist services in England. Hepatitis C treatment is monitored through a NHS England national treatment registry.

Energy Drinks: Public Consultation

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times his Department met the Office for Civil Society at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport ahead of launching its public consultation on its plans to make it illegal to sell energy drinks to children under 16 or under 18; and when those meetings took place.

Steve Brine: The Department has not yet met with officials from the Office for Civil Society about the consultation on ending the sale of energy drinks to children. However, officials are in regular discussion with colleagues at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to explore how we can work together to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people, including through the youth voice proposals published in the Civil Society Strategy.

Dental Services: Prescriptions

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2018 to Question 160713, if he will publish that same information for dental prescriptions wrongly claimed as free.

Steve Brine: The following table shows numbers of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued each year since then for individuals who have claimed exemption from dental treatment charges, but that exemption could not be verified. It also shows the funds recovered from this activity. PCN issued yearPCNs IssuedValue Recovered201473,103£3,459,178.702015191,091£9,021,841.802016324,373£15,500,230.702017429,623£16,885,447.672018243,590£8,023,643.66 Notes:- Date range covered September 2014 – July 2018.- Value recovered can change overtime.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many organisations have received more than (a)  £1 million, (b) £10 million and (c) more than £20 million from DFID in the last 12 months.

Harriett Baldwin: The number of suppliers receiving payments of a) more than £1 million, b) more than £10 million, c) more than £20 million from DFID in the financial year 2017/18 is given in the table below. Suppliers that receive more than £20 million or £10 million will be included in the count of suppliers receiving more than £1 million. DFID payments to individual suppliers for financial year 2017/18 Number of suppliersMore than £1 million313More than £10 million89More than £20 million57

Developing Countries: Brexit

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on developing countries of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Alistair Burt: It is important to remember that the vast majority of DFID’s work is not done via the EU. We remain committed to spending 0.7% of our national income on development assistance, and to achieving the UN’s Global Goals and ending extreme poverty by 2030. In the future, we want to be able to focus collaboration on geographical and thematic areas where we believe development is most needed: the poorest countries, primarily in Africa and Asia. Since the referendum in June 2016 we have been continually assessing the possible impacts of EU Exit on development cooperation. DFID is prepared for all scenarios, including the unlikely event of no deal, and will continue to work towards meeting these commitments whatever the outcome of the negotiations.

Venezuela: Overseas Aid

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government has provided aid to the Government of Venezuela in the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: The UK Government has not provided any bilateral official development assistance (ODA) direct to the Government of Venezuela in the last 12 months. ODA eligible programmes have taken place in Venezuela but spend has been delivered through local and international non-governmental organisations and multilateral organisations. The UK Government is very concerned by the growing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and we are exploring how best we may compliment international humanitarian aid efforts within Venezuela and the wider region. We urge the Venezuelan government to facilitate access to humanitarian assistance for the Venezuelan population.

Department for Education

Apprentices

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on the economy of the target of 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2010.

Anne Milton: Our reforms to apprenticeships will deliver benefits for individuals, businesses and the economy; helping to address skills shortages by making sure growth of higher quality apprenticeships meet the needs of employers. Research published in June 2015 demonstrated the high level of return on investment delivered by the apprenticeships programme. On average, the economic benefits measured over the rest of the learner’s working life for a Level 2 and Level 3 apprenticeship start are estimated as £61,000 and £88,000 respectively. In May 2018, we published our progress report on the apprenticeships reform programme which provides our latest assessment of its benefits. This can be found at the following: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/707896/Progress_report_on_the_Apprenticeships_Reform_Programme_May_2018.pdf.

Sure Start Programme: Violence

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of Sure Start programmes on reducing levels of youth violence.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department has not made an assessment of the effect of Sure Start children’s centres on reducing levels of youth violence specifically. The Evaluation of Children’s Centres in England: Value for Money study, commissioned by the department, considered associations between the use of different services and reductions in youth crime more generally. Findings from this research were published in July 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-centres-in-england-value-for-money.

Pupil Exclusions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to commission an independent investigation into trends in the level of school exclusions; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: In March, the Government launched an externally led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review will explore how head teachers use exclusion in practice, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. It will also consider the differences in exclusion rates between areas and schools across England. The review will aim to report by the end of the year. The full terms of reference for the review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusions-review-terms-of-reference.

Teachers: Performance Appraisal

Mr William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in (a) Hazel Grove constituency, (b) Stockport local authority area and (c) England have implemented capability procedures on one or more of their teachers in each of the last five years.

Mr William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reasons may be cited by schools as justification for the commencement of capability procedures; and what the most common three such reasons have been cited by schools in (a) Hazel Grove constituency, (b) Stockport local authority area and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Mr William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of capability procedures used in schools in (a) Hazel Grove constituency, (b) Stockport local authority area and (c) England in each of the last five years resulted in a teacher (a) being dismissed, (b) being retained and (c) receiving additional training.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not held centrally. Responsibility for capability procedures in schools is primarily a matter for local employers. The regulations on teacher appraisal are mandatory for maintained schools and local authorities. They give schools and local authorities the freedom to design appraisal policies that suit their own individual circumstances. The regulations can be found here:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/115/contents/made.

Ministry of Justice

Family Courts: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many family court cases (a) one and (b) both defendants were without legal representation in Wales in each year since 2010.

Lucy Frazer: Figures showing the legal representation of applicants and respondents in family proceedings in Wales from 2011 – 2017 are in the table below. Table 1 Legal representation status of applicants and respondents in Family Court cases in Wales with at least one hearing, annually 2011 - 2017  Legal Representation YearTotal CasesCases With Hearing Both%Applicant or Respondent%Neither / Unknown%201115,3175,862 3,30956%1,87832%67512%201215,3036,356 3,49655%2,09433%76612%201314,3166,580 2,72141%2,65940%1,20018%201412,8495,586 2,22140%2,03536%1,33024%201513,3765,398 2,17540%2,00537%1,21823%201616,7426,072 2,51541%2,07134%1,48624%201714,0926,091 2,53042%2,10235%1,45924%  Source: HMCTS FamilyMan case management systemNotes: 1) Legal representation is determined by the field 'legal representation' in Familyman being left blank or completed. Therefore, this is only a proxy measure and parties without a recorded representative are not necessarily self-representing litigants in person.2) In this instance 'at least one hearing' refers to non-vacated scheduled hearings, rather than actual hearings that have taken place.3) In most Family Court case types, there are instances of cases with more than one applicant or respondent. In these instances, if any one applicant or respondent is recorded as having legal representation (as detailed in note 1), then this group has been considered as 1 party all with legal representation.

Magistrates' Courts: Sunderland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2018 to Question 166155, to which budget headlines will the £825,000 of income for reinvestment in the Sunderland Magistrates’ court be allocated.

Lucy Frazer: The implementation planning underway will determine what the £825,000 of income for investment in the Sunderland Magistrates’ Court will be spent on. The appropriate budget allocation for these funds will be determined at the conclusion of this planning.

Magistrates' Courts: Sunderland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department plans to spend on upgrading Sunderland Magistrates Court.

Lucy Frazer: HMCTS is committed to investing in the court estate in the city of Sunderland and will spend over £5m during the next ten years on upgrading and maintaining the current magistrates’ court.

Prison Officers: Older Workers

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the ability of frontline prison staff to work in an operational role when they are over the age of 60.

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the ability of people over the age of 55 to pass the fitness test required to be a frontline member of the prison service.

Rory Stewart: HMPPS takes very seriously the health and safety of all staff working within prisons.The Normal Pension Age (NPA) under the Civil Service pension scheme is linked to the individual member’s State Pension Age (SPA) and ranges from 65 to 68, based on their date of birth.There are many factors which determine a person’s ability to pass a fitness test which could not be determined by their age alone.Since 2007, when the NPA changed for new entrants to 65 under a Career Average Pension, HMPPS has been recruiting new Prison Officers in England and Wales in their sixties who have passed the fitness test and are performing their roles effectively. In addition, many staff who have the right to retire at 60 choose to work beyond their retirement age.To become a Prison Officer you must pass a Recruitment Assessment Day (RAD) which consists of literacy and numeracy tests, situational judgment tests and physical and medical tests. These determine your suitability for the role and do not take into account a candidate’s age or gender. There are 4 elements of the fitness test including: grip, agility, bleep and holding a shield. All of these elements need to be passed for the candidate to pass the fitness part of the RAD.All Prison Officers who joined the service after April 2001 must pass an annual fitness test in order to remain a prison officer. Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many benefits claimants have taken their case to tribunal in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost has been of such tribunals in each of those years.

Lucy Frazer: Details on the number of benefit claimants are contained in the published statistics in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognitions-certificates-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2018. The total cost of the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal (including overheads) for the last 10 years are detailed in the table below:  Gross Expenditure (£)2008-0966,917,0002009-1081,761,0002010-1190,897,4592011-1299,042,6902012-13115,320,3342013-14140,039,6052014-1587,357,3662015-1692,554,0702016-17105,776,2142017-18121,482,762

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has received representations from tribunals on the caseload increase from benefits appeals.

Lucy Frazer: HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) regularly discusses measures to increase the capacity and performance of the Tribunal with the Judiciary and other interested parties. In order to respond to a general increase in appeal receipts, HMCTS has been working with the Tribunal’s judiciary both to appoint additional judges and panel members, and to take forward initiatives with the potential to increase the capacity and performance of the Tribunal.

Prison Sentences

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many custodial sentences were given to first-time offenders in England and Wales in each year since 2008.

Rory Stewart: The number of custodial sentences given to first time offenders in England and Wales is available in the document “Offending History Data Tool: First Time Entrants Statistics” at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017 This data covers the latest available calendar year figures (i.e. the 12 months ending December 2007 to the 12 months ending December 2017)

Legal Aid Scheme

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish the conclusions of the review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012; and whether he has plans to undertake a review of the effect of legal aid reform since 2000.

Lucy Frazer: We remain committed to publishing the findings of the Post-Implementation Review by the end of the year. Whilst it is important to consider the impact of changes introduced since 2000, the review is focused on the impact of the legal aid changes made under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.The Government plans to use the evidence gathered as part of the review to inform its wider consideration on the future of legal support in the justice system.

Legal Aid Scheme: Asylum

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the (a) adequacy of support for and (b) capacity of legal aid solicitors to represent people with complex asylum cases.

Lucy Frazer: The Legal Aid Agency monitors capacity across legal aid contracts on a regular basis and takes action to ensure there is ongoing availability of legal advice for the public. At a local level, engagement generally takes place through the LAA’s local contract management team, although wider strategic concerns can also be raised by the profession’s representative groups through the regular engagement meetings the LAA holds with those organisations. The Legal Aid Agency requires that all providers who deliver legal aid to asylum seekers comply with the Law Society’s Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme, with such work being overseen by an appointed supervisor of legal aid work for immigration and asylum cases at each firm.

Legal Aid Scheme: Asylum

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that women claiming asylum who have experienced forms of violence that may be difficult to disclose have adequate access to legal representation.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that women seeking asylum who have experienced forms of violence that may be difficult to disclose have adequate access to legal representation.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum who have experienced forms of violence that may be difficult to disclose have adequate access to legal representation.

Lucy Frazer: The government is clear that legal aid is available to those who need it most. Subject to statutory means and merit tests, applications and appeals for asylum generally remain in scope for civil legal aid and advice can be accessed without the need to evidence any the specifics of the violence that an applicant may have experienced. The LAA procures immigration and asylum providers who are specialists in this area and are expected to be alert and aware of all issues relating to refugee and asylum status including any possible gender dimensions. We recognise that it may be difficult to disclose sensitive information. The Home Office has taken steps to make this process sensitive by, for example, providing gender-specific interviewers and interpreters on request. The Government is committed to delivering an asylum process which supports claimants in providing information relevant to their claim to facilitate fair and sustainable asylum decisions. This includes a commitment to ensuring that those who have suffered forms of violence feel able to disclose their experiences early in the asylum process so that decision-makers can consider that evidence and grant protection where needed without undue delay. At the point of claim, the Home Office provides information to asylum claimants including on legal advice. This includes details of support organisations that may be relevant for those who have experienced gender-based violence, torture, trafficking and modern slavery.

Repossession Orders

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many property possession warrants have been issued to (a) NRAM Ltd, (b) Landmark Mortgages, (c) (i) Henrico, (ii) Auburn and (iii) all other companies in the Promontoria group and (d) WhistleTree as part of possession proceedings in each quarter since January 2016.

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many property possession warrants have been issued as part of possession proceedings to (a) NRAM plc, (b) Mortgage Express, (c) Barclays and (d) Nationwide in each quarter since January 2010.

Lucy Frazer: The volume of possession warrants issued in relation to the companies named are provided in the following tables.The number of property possession warrants have been issued as part of possession proceedings to (a) NRAM plc, (b) Mortgage Express, (c) Barclays and (d) Nationwide in each quarter since January 2010YearQuarterNRAM PlcMortgage ExpressBarclaysNationwide2010194148155732481071125535612910261443948867Year2414784572562011133988055230725125323766630414444223Year100290239133201212036522221436529322493811421183910Year771391815220131174039122942367394330948361212Year4316111740201411225231521024178392717748897Year3984663720151131481021016943151086431483Year41543323201619141622141715931418122431878Year4067502120171214121321141393012341041133713Year4539645201814192510218239 The number of property possession warrants have been issued to (a) NRAM Ltd, (b) Landmark Mortgages, (c) (i) Henrico, (ii) Auburn and (iii) all other companies in the Promontoria group and (d) WhistleTree as part of possession proceedings in each quarter since January 2016. YearQuarterNRAM LtdLandmark MortgagesHenricoAuburnPromontoria Group*WhistleTree201611750030214200203216003041760000Year691900802017116110030276602038900604871032Year39337014220181151300522930083*including ‘Promontoria’, ‘Eagle’, ‘Thames’, ‘Hampton’

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the oral statement of 16 July 2018, Official Report, column 41 on trade policy, whether impact assessments for new trade deals will be undertaken by an independent consultant, ex ante; and whether those impact assessments will assess the effect of new trade deals on women and girls in developing countries.

George Hollingbery: The Government is committed to providing Parliament with timely information about the Government’s approach to trade and investment negotiations and the potential implications of any new agreements. This will include timely analysis at appropriate points. The government is considering options for how best to undertake the analysis.The Government remains committed to increasing women’s role in trade in the UK and around the world.

Trade Agreements: Impact Assessments

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the oral statement of 16 July 2018, Official Report, column 41 on trade policy, what the timescale is for publishing impact assessments; and whether that timescale will effect the final outcome of the provisions in new trade agreements.

George Hollingbery: The Government is committed to providing Parliament with timely information about the Government’s approach to trade and investment negotiations and the potential implications of any new agreements. Prior to entering formal negotiations, on any new free trade agreement, the Government will publish high-level objectives accompanied by a scoping assessment. As negotiations progress, the Government will update Parliament regularly. This will include timely analysis at appropriate points. At the end of a negotiation, the Government will lay before Parliament an impact assessment alongside any treaty it intends to ratify, as is the current process for treaty ratification.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Silvertown Quays: Regeneration

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has any role in oversight or approval of the regeneration of Silvertown Quays; and if he will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: An outline planning application (14/01605/OUT) for the regeneration of Silvertown Quays for mixed use purposes on a 27.4 ha site, was approved by the London Borough of Newham on 21 April 2015 subject to referral to the Mayor of London, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (as then known) and the Secretary of State for Transport.The application was referred to the Greater London Authority under the Mayor of London Order 2008 as a stage 2 referral on 9 December 2015. The GLA decision, issued 22 December 2015, was that it was content to allow Newham to determine the case.The application was subsequently referred to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by the Council under the Town & Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2009. The referral was made as the retail leisure and office uses were outside the town centre.The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government decided not to call in the application and a decision of non-intervention was issued on 28 January 2016.In a letter dated 25 February 2016, the Department for Transport offered no objection to the footbridge development in the public safety zone relating to London City Airport.The London Borough of Newham issued the formal decision notice, granting planning consent, on 19 August 2016.The Department has no record of further involvement by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Housing

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2017 to Question 901471 on Assessment of Housing Need, if the hon. Member for North West Hampshire will meet with the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon to discuss planning in Oxfordshire.

Kit Malthouse: I would be happy to meet with the Hon Member for Oxford West and Abingdon.

Housing: Standards

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to set up a New Homes Ombudsman to monitor and regulate new housing standards.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government is keen to improve redress for people who experience problems with their housing.The All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment (APPG) report More homes, fewer complaints, published in July 2016, and follow up call for evidence report Better redress for home buyers released on 26 June 2018, made a number of recommendations on how we can strengthen consumer redress within the new homes market, a New Homes Ombudsman being one.We are aware of the APPG recommendations and have been listening and responding to industry for strengthening consumer redress which is why, in February, we published the consultation Strengthening consumer redress in the housing market, which followed on the former Secretary of State's commitment to explore options for improving redress in the housing market. The consultation has now closed and my officials are analysing all responses. A response will be published in due course.

Help to Buy Scheme

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve the accessibility of the Help to Buy scheme for lower-income citizens.

Kit Malthouse: Help to Buy: Equity Loan has helped almost 159,000 households buy a new-build home from its launch in spring 2013 until December 2017. The scheme enables prospective homeowners to buy a home with a deposit of 5 per cent. 81 per cent of sales have been to first-time buyers.The majority (59 per cent) of the households using the scheme have had household incomes of £50,000 or less.For people unable to afford to purchase a home fully, there is the option of shared ownership, by which they can purchase 25 per cent to 75 per cent of a home, with the option to buy further shares in their homes in minimum 10 per cent instalments, and in most circumstances, up to full ownership.

Housing: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated from the public purse for estate regeneration in the Greater London Authority area in each of the last three years.

Kit Malthouse: Since 2016, the Government’s Estate Regeneration Programme has provided financial support to estate regeneration in 11 London Boroughs.In 2016 a loan of £56 million was contracted to Notting Hill Genesis to regenerate Grahame Park estate in Barnet. To date, £19.3 million has been drawn down.In 2017 the Government awarded £8.7 million in grants to schemes across the following London Boroughs: Ealing, Merton, Camden, Haringey, Southwark, Sutton, Barnet, Harrow, Bexley, Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames.

Private Rented Housing: Housing Benefit

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to end discrimination against housing benefit claimants by private sector landlords.

Kit Malthouse: The Government appreciates the problems that housing benefit claimants can sometimes face in finding accommodation in the private rented sector. We strongly encourage landlords and agents to consider all potential and existing tenants claiming housing benefit on an individual basis. We have published a new How to Let guide on 26 June to help landlords better understand their rights and responsibilities. At present, the English Housing Survey Headline Report 2016-17 (published February 2018) shows that 22 per cent of households privately renting are in receipt of housing benefit.A number of MHCLG policies work to combat discrimination and unfair practices. These include the introduction, in April 2018, of banning orders and a database of rogue landlords and agents designed to remove the worst landlords and agents from the sector. The requirement, since 1 October 2014, for letting and managing agents in England to belong to a Government approved redress scheme, giving tenants access to free dispute resolution where problems, including those related to discrimination, occur in relation to their agent. In addition, we are committed to requiring all landlords to be members of a redress scheme to ensure that all tenants, not just those who use agents, have access to quick and easy dispute resolution when things go wrong. Our eight week consultation on strengthening redress in housing closed on 16 April. We are analysing responses with a view to publishing a Government response in the Autumn.

Social Media: Bullying

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with representatives of social media providers on tackling online (a) misogynistic, (b) racist, (c) homophobic and transphobic abuse.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Since 2011 the cross-government hate crime programme has included work with Internet Service Providers and key stakeholders to deal with online abuse including misogynistic, racist, homophobic and transphobic abuse.This work has largely been led by the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for combating Anti-Semitism, and latterly by the EU High Level Group on internet abuse. They have worked with key internet service providers including Facebook, Google, Twitter and Microsoft on a code to take down illegal content within 24 hours.

Affordable Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps to reinstate the requirement for small sites of 10 units or fewer to adhere to affordable housing obligations.

Kit Malthouse: The revised National Planning Policy Framework includes policy that provision of affordable housing should not be sought for residential developments that are not major developments, which for housing is defined as development where 10 or more homes will be provided. This strikes a balance between increasing self-build and small-scale housing development, while recognising the role of section 106 in helping to provide affordable housing.

Affordable Housing: East Midlands

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Affordable Homes Programme in the East Midlands.

Kit Malthouse: The Department does not publish Affordable Homes Programme allocations data by the financial year. Initial programme allocations to January 2017, including by Homes England operating area, can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/affordable-homes-programme-2016-to-2021-successful-biddersThe Department does not publish funding allocation information on a local authority level basis.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department took prior to 2017 to assess whether both industry and officials of his Department fully understood Government guidance on the use of ACM cladding issued in Approved Document B.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department took as a result of the warning issued by attendees at a meeting of a fire group hosted by the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology on 2 July 2014 that Approved Document B guidance on cladding was not clear.

Kit Malthouse: Officials from the Department regularly meet with trade bodies and other representative bodies in order to discuss the application of building regulations to assist them in developing advice for their members. For example, in 2015 the Building Control Alliance, a group made up of representatives of building control bodies across England and Wales, issued advice to its members on the guidance on cladding systems. The steps which the Department took in relation to the guidance in Approved Document B are matters for the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire.

Supported Housing: Finance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on the development of a localised funding system for housing-related costs for people in supported housing who are entitled to universal credit.

Nigel Adams: We announced on 9 August that we will be maintaining Housing Benefit for all supported housing. Alongside this, the Government will be introducing a new oversight mechanism to ensure quality of provision and value for money across this vital sector. We have also published the Government’s response to the October 2017 consultations on funding for supported housing which is available online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/funding-for-supported-housing-two-consultations

East Sussex County Council: Bankruptcy

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to prevent East Sussex County Council going bankrupt.

Rishi Sunak: Through the Local Government Finance Settlement, East Sussex Council will have available over £1.8 billion of core spending power over the spending review period (2015/16 to 2019-20). Funding provided through the settlement is largely unringfenced. Decisions about funding priorities for local services are rightly for local areas to take.

Homelessness

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to prevent the deaths of homeless people during the winter of 2018-19; and what long-term prevention strategy is being developed by his Department in relation to homeless people.

Nigel Adams: We are clear that no one should ever have to sleep rough and are determined to make it a thing of the past.This year, as part of the Rough Sleeping Initiative, we provided £30 million to 83 areas with the highest levels of rough sleeping. This funding will boost the immediate support available, including providing an additional 1,750 bed spaces for those sleeping rough or at risk this winter. This will be followed by an additional £45 million in 2019-20 to continue to respond to emerging challenges and make an immediate impact.As part of our new Rough Sleeping Strategy, published on 13 August, we will provide up to £2 million in 2018/19 in health funding. This will be used to test models of community-based provision designed to enable access to health and support services for people who are sleeping rough. We have also asked NHS England to spend up to £30 million on health services for people who sleep rough, over the next five years. Alongside this, we will ensure that people sleeping rough have access to existing local systems by providing new funding for rough sleeping navigators.Most importantly, we will work to ensure that Safeguarding Adult Reviews are conducted when a person who sleeps rough dies or is seriously harmed as a result of abuse or neglect, whether known or suspected, and there is concern that partner agencies could have worked more effectively to protect the adult. We will consider how lessons learned from these reviews will inform improvements in local systems and services so this does not happen again.We are clear that only by taking a holistic approach to homelessness and rough sleeping will we ensure that support is there for those who need it most. That is why our rough sleeping strategy builds on the foundation of the Homelessness Reduction Act and has prevention at its centre - stopping people from becoming homeless in the first place and providing them with the right support to find work and live independently. We are also committed to publishing a strategy on wider homelessness issues, which the cross-government Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce, will move on to address in due course.I strongly believe that this package will achieve substantial results, alongside the work already underway. We have allocated £1.2 billion to tackling homelessness through to 2020. This includes £617 million in Flexible Homelessness Support Grant funding which local authorities can use strategically to prevent and tackle homelessness in their area.

Homelessness

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons contributing to trends in the level of homelessness.

Nigel Adams: The evidence suggests the causation of homelessness and rough sleeping is complex and that there is no single trigger or event. A complex interaction of individual factors (eg relationship breakdown, drug and alcohol abuse), structural factors and protective factors are likely to influence whether a person becomes homeless during their lifetime, as well as affect their ability to find a home.To further our understanding on the causes of homelessness and rough sleeping we have committed to conduct a feasibility study - led by MHCLG, and co-funded by the Department for Work and Pensions. The long-term ambition for this research is to develop a quantitative, predictive model (or models) of homelessness and rough sleeping, which can be applied to various policy scenarios, to help assess the impacts of government intervention on levels of homelessness.This will be supported by an evidence review on the broad range of factors that might influence levels of homelessness, from the housing market to welfare systems, as well as individual factors.Also, the new Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC) which is a household level data collection will include more information on the people in a homeless household, more detailed information on people’s reasons for becoming homeless and their support needs.

Commonhold: Regulation

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the the regulation of commonhold land where there is not an obligation set out in the commonhold community statement.

Kit Malthouse: For land to be registered as commonhold, a commonhold community statement has to be in place. As part of its 13th programme of law reform, the Law Commission is taking forward a project to re-invigorate commonhold as a workable alternative to residential leasehold, for both existing and new homes. The Law Commission has published terms of reference for this work, and will be looking at the role, layout and content of the commonhold community statement, and make recommendations. The Government will consider the recommendations when the Law Commission has reported.

Affordable Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the total Homes England grant funding for affordable housing allocated by (a) Homes England operating region and (b) local authority area in 2016-17.

James Brokenshire: The Department does not publish Affordable Homes Programme allocations data by the financial year. Initial programme allocations to January 2017, including by Homes England operating area, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/affordable-homes-programme-2016-to-2021-successful-biddersThe Department does not publish funding allocation information on a local authority level basis.

High Rise Flats: Safety

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many of the 4,000 tall tower blocks similar to Grenfell Tower which the Government announced last year would receive emergency safety inspections measure 30 metres/10 storeys or higher and are under (a) local authority or (b) housing association control.

Kit Malthouse: The Building Safety Programme has been working with local authorities and building owners across England to identify properties over 18 metres that might have potentially unsafe cladding systems, similar to Grenfell Tower.As of 16 August, there are 159 social housing buildings that have cladding systems which the Independent Expert Panel advise are unlikely to meet current building regulations, and therefore present a fire hazard on buildings over 18 metres. Of these 159 buildings, 43 are local authority owned housing, and 101 are housing association owned. We do not hold information on any non-ACM affected buildings over 18 metres. The latest ACM testing results are in in our monthly data release, which can be found here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/735703/Building_Safety_Data_Release_August_2018.pdf

Local Government Finance

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 2017 to 2018 provisional outturn.

Rishi Sunak: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the provisional outturn estimates of local authority revenue expenditure and financing for 2017 to 2018 on 23 August 2018.Figures are available from:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2017-to-2018-provisional-outturn

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Modernisation

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2018 to Question 166117 on defence: modernisation, whether all additional finance in the Modernising Defence Programme will be generated by greater efficiency through business modernisation.

Gavin Williamson: We are committed to embracing new approaches, processes and technologies to deliver the intent set out by the Modernising Defence Programme - and, in doing so, maximise our efficiency and effectiveness. Significant work to develop these plans is currently under way.

NATO: Military Exercises

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2018 to Question 160778 on NATO: Military Exercises, (a) when and (b) for what reason the decision was taken not to participate in the NATO exercise Dynamic Mongoose in 2018.

Mark Lancaster: The involvement of our Armed Forces in military exercises is always dependent upon our wider commitments and operational requirements. In the case of the NATO Exercise Dynamic Mongoose, the Royal Navy's operational requirements were such that they were unable to participate in the exercise and notified the appropriate authorities.

Qatar: Hawk Aircraft

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2018 to Question 128885, if he will provide an update on progress on the potential order by the Qatari Government of Hawk aircraft.

Stuart Andrew: On 29 June 2018 it was confirmed by BAE Systems that the contract that had been signed with the State of Qatar on 10 December 2017 for 24 Typhoon aircraft had been amended to include the supply of nine Hawk.

Qatar: Hawk Aircraft

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he had with the Amir of Qatar at their meeting on 24 July 2018 on the potential order of Hawk aircraft by the Qatari Government.

Stuart Andrew: The Secretary of State for Defence and the Amir of Qatar discussed the strength of our bilateral defence and security relationship and the unique opportunities associated with Qatar's recent acquisition of Typhoon and Hawk aircraft.

Warships

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the minimum staffing level requirement is for each vessel in the Royal Navy surface fleet.

Mark Lancaster: For Operational security reasons the Royal Navy will not release minimum staffing level requirements.

Military Aircraft: Storage

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many aircraft of each (a) model and (b) type owned and operated by the armed forces are in storage.

Stuart Andrew: The number of aircraft available varies from day-to-day according to normal fleet management activities, aircraft held in storage are part of the Sustainment Fleet for undergoing upgrade or maintenance.

Military Aircraft

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and which (a) current and (b) former RAF aircraft are in (i) RAF museums (ii) front line service and serviceable (iii) front line service and non-serviceable.

Stuart Andrew: The number of fixed and rotary wing aircraft available varies from day-to-day according to normal fleet management activities and requirements.The Sustainment Fleet includes aircraft undergoing upgrade or maintenance or being held in storage.The RAF Museums operate at arm's length from the Ministry of Defence and any RAF aircraft that have been donated to them are not maintained in airworthy condition and are for static display purposes only.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) for what reason personal independence payments were not paid on time in (i) June 2018 and (ii) July 2018.

Sarah Newton: There were 2 Northern Ireland Personal Independent Payments (PIP) that could have been classed as late in July, around the Battle of the Boyne Bank Holiday. Upon investigation it was found that the customers had recently changed address from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, around the time payments were being advanced which caused the delay. Changes to the system were made on these cases to prevent any future payment issues occurring.No other PIP payments have been notified as late in June or July 2018.

Children: Maintenance

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many paying parents who had defaulted on payment and had outstanding arrears during the last month of their Child Support Agency case defaulted on payment within the first six months of being moved to the new Child Maintenance Service case.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there is a limit on how many times a paying parent is given the opportunity to pay direct through the Child Maintenance Service to the parent with care after failing to pay and enforcement action having been taken.

Justin Tomlinson: Paying parents deemed unlikely to pay must pay on time and in full by a non-enforced method for a period of at least six months via the Child Maintenance Service (the collect and pay service) before they can choose to revert to paying the receiving parent direct (Direct Pay). This provides a period of stability for the receiving parent, and requires the paying parent to demonstrate that they can be voluntarily compliant. There is no limit, however, to the number of times that a paying parent may be given the opportunity to pay direct to the receiving parent, as behaviour can change over time. A parent once deemed unlikely to pay, may now be willing to do so.

Children: Maintenance

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what performance measures have been established for the Child Maintenance Service for the clearing of arrears in maintenance cases.

Justin Tomlinson: CMS publishes updates with regards to the value of unpaid maintenance in the Child Maintenance Service Statistics: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717223/child-maintenance-service-august-2013-to-march-2018.pdf In March 2018 there was a total of £197.8m unpaid Child Maintenance which should have been paid through the Collect and Pay service. This equated to 12.1% of the total liability (child maintenance) raised to date since the service began, £1,637.6m, and includes unpaid Child Maintenance under Direct Pay cases which have been transferred to Collect and Pay. Unpaid Maintenance will continue to accrue as it is impossible to achieve total compliance due to circumstances on individual cases and customer behaviours. CMS sets stretching performance measures to support restricting and reducing the growth of Unpaid Maintenance. The performance measures relate to expectations of compliance through proactive treatment of non-paying cases. The effect of these performance measures is to drive down the predicted growth so total Unpaid Maintenance does not exceed ~£300m reducing to 11.8% of the total liability raised.

Child Maintenance Service: Complaints

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints have been made against the Child Maintenance Service since January 2017.

Justin Tomlinson: The latest statistics on the number of complaints received each quarter by the Child maintenance Service are published in Table 17 of the Child Maintenance Service: Aug 2013 to Mar 2018 (experimental) statistics available online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-aug-2013-to-mar-2018-experimentalInformation up to the end of June 2018 is due to be published in September 2018.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling working parents on low incomes that are eligible to claim for childcare costs under universal credit, to receive that support in advance.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to reduce upfront childcare costs for low income families in receipt of universal credit.

Alok Sharma: The Government has increased the level of support for childcare costs from 70 per cent in legacy benefits, to 85 per cent within Universal Credit. This means that working families claiming Universal Credit can reclaim up to 85 per cent of their eligible childcare costs each month, up to a maximum of £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children.DWP continues to improve the Universal Credit experience for claimants and to ensure that they are supported throughout their journey. For those with children, this includes ensuring that help with up front childcare costs is available for Universal Credit households with a low income.Claimants with a firm job offer can claim Universal Credit childcare costs up to 1 month prior to starting work to enable their children to settle into a new routine. We also offer extra support to enable parents to pay upfront childcare costs or deposits: for example, claimants may be eligible to receive an advance of their future Universal Credit entitlement, which is interest free. Work coaches and claimants work together to ensure that, where this is taken up, repayments are affordable and manageable.If a budgeting advance is not appropriate, the Flexible Support Fund may also provide assistance. Payments from this fund are non-repayable, and are managed locally to provide tailored and targeted support for claimants to move into work.Since February 2018, Universal Credit claimants have been able to upload digital copies of their childcare cost receipts or invoices through their online Universal Credit account, all of which make it even easier for claimants to apply for Universal Credit.

Children: Maintenance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service uses up-to-date income information automatically obtained from HMRC for non-resident parents when making maintenance calculations where HMRC does not possess income information for a full tax year.

Justin Tomlinson: Where the Child Maintenance Service requests information about a Paying Parent’s income HMRC will provide information for the most recent complete tax year they have in the last six years. In the majority of cases this will generate a clear and easily understood income figure. Where this is not possible the Child Maintenance Service will make a calculation based on information, which parents are legally required to provide, which demonstrates what the Paying Parent’s current income is.

Universal Credit

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how individuals living in (a) specified  supported and (b) supported exempt accommodation are advised when they submit a universal credit application that they will not be entitled to the housing element of that benefit.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the claims for housing benefit of people living in (a) specified supported and (b) supported exempt accommodation automatically end when they apply for universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson: The claims for housing benefit of people living in (a) specified supported and (b) supported exempt accommodation do not automatically end when they apply for Universal Credit. There is a process in place where Local Authority informs the DWP, which ensures the claimant’s housing benefit claim remains open, ensuring they receive both the housing benefit and the Universal Credit payment that they are entitled to. Individuals living in specified supported and supported exempt accommodation will receive correspondence from their Local Authority with information about their housing benefit entitlement. Additionally, their UC Journal will clearly outline their UC entitlements.

Children: Maintenance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165065 Children: Maintenance and with reference to page 27 of his Department's paper How We Work Out Child Maintenance: A Step-by-Step Guide, for what reason a parent with 50-50 shared care of their child is require to pay child maintenance.

Justin Tomlinson: In cases where exactly equal care is provided by both parents neither parent is required to pay maintenance. If shared care is provided for at least 175 nights in the year on average, maintenance is reduced by one half to reflect the care contribution made by the Paying Parent. Maintenance is still due, but at a reduced level because it is expected that the principal provider of care would still bear a greater proportion of the associated costs of day to day care of the child.

Universal Credit

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the conclusion of the report, Rolling Out Universal Credit, published by the NAO in June 2018, that one in five claimants do not receive their full payment on time.

Alok Sharma: We consistently pay around 80% of new claims in full and on time. In many cases, where full payment is not made on time by the end of the first assessment period, this is as a result of unresolved issues: some claimants have not signed their Claimant Commitment or passed identity checks, and the others have outstanding verification issues, such as for housing and self-employed earnings.Verification is a necessary part of any benefits system, and taxpayers expect these measures to be in place; we have to make sure we are paying the right people the right amount. As the NAO report acknowledges, we have taken steps to improve verification processes. For example we have listened to feedback and built processes into the system to make it easier and quicker for people to verify their housing costs.Whilst their verification is on-going, many of these claimants receive a part payment for those elements of the claim that have been resolved. We published an ad hoc statistical release on 9 July which showed, for new claims due a payment in February 2018, 95% were paid in full within five weeks of the payment due date.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will hold discussions with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Women Against State Pension Inequality on transitional state pension arrangements for women born after 1951 in advance of Budget 2018.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Work and Pensions has regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. This issue of transitional state pension arrangements for women born after 1951 has been debated numerous times, during successive governments including the Liberal and Conservative coalition 2010-2015. The Government has no plans to revisit the policy on women’s State Pension age. We do not intend to make further concessions in addition to the transitional arrangements for those adversely affected by the acceleration of increases in State Pension age which have already been made, in 2011 when the Pensions Bill was debated in Parliament.

Motability

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will conduct a review into the insurance options which are available to drivers who are awarded a vehicle under the motability scheme but whom the RSA will not cover because they have an LC20 on their licence as a result of a minor motoring offence.

Sarah Newton: The Department is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability scheme. Any questions regarding the operation of the scheme itself, including those relating to insurance options, should be directed to Motability.

Children: Maintenance

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service has the necessary power to ensure that employers release payments from the earnings of paying parents in their employment with deduction from earning orders applied to their salary in a more timely manner.

Justin Tomlinson: The Child Maintenance Service encourages employers to release payments made via a deduction from earnings orders as soon as possible. Employers are required to pay deductions made for child maintenance by the 19th day of the month following that in which the deduction was made. There are no plans to reduce this period as this would place an unfair burden on employers.

Pensions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on the future of the pensions dashboard; what the cost to the public purse was of the establishment of the dashboard; and what assessment she has made of the merits of the dashboard.

Guy Opperman: On Tuesday 4 September 2018, I published a written statement providing an update on pensions including the pensions dashboard. The statement can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-04/HCWS933/Aside from the usual staff running costs, the costs to the Department to date for undertaking the pension dashboard feasibility study are around £100k. This covers the period from October 2017 when the Department assumed policy responsibility from HM Treasury, to end of August 2018 when we published the written statement.We will shortly report on the findings of the feasibility study.

Pensions

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her department plans to publish the feasibility study into the creation of a pensions dashboard.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to publish the feasibility study of the Pensions Dashboard.

Guy Opperman: On Tuesday 4 September 2018, the Minister for Pensions published a written statement providing an update on pensions including the pensions dashboard. This can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-04/HCWS933/ The work that the Department has done in assessing feasibility for a pensions dashboard has made it clear that we should not underestimate the size of complexity of the challenge.We will report shortly on the findings of the feasibility study.

Pensions

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it remains her Department's policy to create a pensions dashboard.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether plans are still in place for her Department to provide a Pensions Dashboard online tool.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to retain the Pensions Dashboard Project.

Guy Opperman: On Tuesday 4 September 2018, I published a written statement providing an update on pensions including the pensions dashboard. This statement can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-04/HCWS933/An industry-led dashboard, facilitated by Government, will harness the best of industry innovation. We will continue to engage with industry, consumer groups and other stakeholders on this model and Government will protect pension savers and personal information by legislating where necessary. We will shortly report on the findings of the Feasibility Study.

Stroke Association

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she last met with the Stroke Association; and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to meet with the Stroke Association to discuss the personal independence payment assessment guidelines for stroke survivors.

Sarah Newton: I am scheduled to meet with representatives from the Stroke Association on 10 September. During that meeting we aim to discuss a variety of topics, including awareness of stroke within Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance.

Pensions

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much money her Department has spent to date on the development of the pensions dashboard.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the proposed Pensions Dashboard project to date.

Guy Opperman: Aside from the usual staff running costs, the costs to the Department to date for undertaking the pension dashboard feasibility study are around £100k. This covers the period from October 2017 when the Department assumed policy responsibility from HM Treasury, to end of August 2018 when I published the written statement.

Pensions

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made on the roll-out of the Pensions Dashboard.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to roll out the Pensions Dashboard.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timeline is for the launch of the Pensions Dashboard.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is the Government's policy to continue the roll-out the Pensions Dashboard; and if she will make a statement.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made over the summer recess 2018 on developing a pensions dashboard; if she will set out a timetable for the delivery and implementation of that dashboard; and if she will make a statement.

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent current progress she has made on the roll-out of a pensions dashboard.

Guy Opperman: On Tuesday 4 September 2018, I published a written statement providing an update on pensions including the pensions dashboard. This can be found here: : https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-04/HCWS933/ We will shortly report on the findings of the Feasibility Study, and will engage with industry, consumer groups and other stakeholders to agree timelines for delivery.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Marine Conservation Zones: Cumbria

Trudy Harrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons it was decided (a) to include razorbills and (b) not  to include common guillemots as an additional feature of the Cumbria Coast Marine Conservation Zone in the Government's June 2018 consultation on sites proposed for designation in the third tranche of Marine Conservation Zones.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The inclusion in Marine Conservation Zones of highly mobile species, such as seabirds, is considered where it can be demonstrated that it would help meet the conservation objectives for that species. Numbers of razorbill at this site have shown a significant decline in recent years and their inclusion is therefore warranted. Numbers of common guillemot, by contrast, have more than doubled at this site over the same period and it was therefore decided that there was insufficient justification to include them as a feature in this Marine Conservation Zone. We look forward to receiving views on our proposals through the consultation, which will inform our final decisions.

Air Pollution: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what further steps he plans to take to improve air quality for residents of London.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Mayor of London is responsible for air quality in the capital and has reserve powers under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to reflect this.   These powers enable the Mayor to take a broad range of actions, particularly in relation to transport – this includes the introduction of the “T-Charge” and the proposed Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).   The Mayor of London has received a comprehensive funding settlement from the Government, worth more than £5 billion, which includes measures to deliver compliance with air quality limits.   London and Londoners have also received £137million funding from the government’s £3.5 billion plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions.   In addition, the Government has also published the Clean Air Strategy consultation setting out a national approach to tackling air pollution focused on broader emissions beyond road transport aiming to cut air pollution and save lives. This will have beneficial effects across the country, including in London.   The Government has also published a consultation on cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood. This focuses on a range of options to phase out the sale of the most polluting fuels therefore enabling consumers to switch to less polluting alternatives. The deadline for responses is 12 October.

Community Plant Variety Office

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to maintain the responsibilities and functions in the UK of the Community Plant Variety Office (a) when the UK leaves the EU and (b) in the event of the UK leaving the EU in 2019 without agreement; and if he will make a statement.

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans for Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 to form part of the common rule book envisaged in the White Paper, The Future Relationship Between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published in July 2018, Cm 9593.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As a signatory to the 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, the UK will continue to provide intellectual property protection through plant variety rights. We are considering the implications and possible options as part of our planning for, and negotiations on, the UK’s departure from the EU. In the event of leaving the EU without an agreement, existing EU plant variety rights will be made effective under UK legislation. New varieties after exit can be protected through the normal UK legislation and processes.   Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 refers to EU Plant Variety Rights and provides protection of intellectual property associated with the breeding of plant varieties. The regulation is not associated with ‘goods’ and as such would not be included in the envisioned common rule book.

Food Supply

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the amount of food that will have to be stockpiled by (a) retailers and (b) the Government to ensure an adequate food supply in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with retailers on plans to stockpile food to ensure an adequate food supply in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to ensure that stockpiled food is not rapidly depleted by panic buying in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to use quantitative metrics based on (a) gross amount of stockpiled food, (b) total amount of food relative to weekly consumption or (c) another measure to define what is an adequate supply of food in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

George Eustice: The Government is committed to securing the best deal for the food, fishery and farming sectors, whilst ensuring that consumers continue to have a wide range of choice of food products at affordable prices. The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from third countries. This will continue to be the case as we leave the EU. While we are making sensible preparations for all eventualities as we leave the EU, there are no plans to stockpile food. The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry on food supply chain issues and we will be using these to support preparations for leaving the EU.

Desalination

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to support the construction of more water desalination plants in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is developing a national policy statement for water resources infrastructure. This will set out the need for, and streamline the delivery of, nationally significant water resources infrastructure, such as reservoirs, water transfers and desalination plants.

Crayfish

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the CEFAS report no. 5775 Controlling Invasive Crayfish on crayfish trapping.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The report was published on 2 August and can be found by following the link below.   Control of Invasive Species of Crayfish - WC1066

Agriculture: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to extend (a) Higher and (b) Entry Level Stewardship schemes, due to expire at the end of January 2019 by (a) an initial two years (b) until replacement provisions are in place after the UK leaves the EU.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on farmers of not renewing the (a) Higher and (b) Entry Level Stewardship schemes after those schemes expire in January 2019.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) financial and (b) environmental effect on farmers of not being able to renew Higher Level and Entry Level Stewardship Schemes that expire in January 2019.

George Eustice: In 2016, the majority of land managers with expiring Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements signed up to Higher Tier and Mid Tier Countryside Stewardship agreements. There is also a projected high pick up of Countryside Stewardship by land managers with HLS agreements that expired in 2017. For 2018, the current projections for new Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship agreements is that these will deliver more land into Priority Habitat, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and water outcomes than last year. DEFRA, Natural England and the Rural Payments Agency are currently considering how we can further preserve the benefits of expiring Higher and Entry Level Stewardship agreements from 2019 onwards. All expiring HLS agreement holders benefit from the support of their local Natural England adviser, who can discuss land management and future scheme choices with them.

Water: Shortages

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to provide a support package for farmers who have had to use their winter store of feed as a result of the recent water shortage.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect animal welfare in the light of the feed shortages anticipated in Cumbria due to the recent water shortage.

George Eustice: The Government is committed to the very highest standards of animal welfare, and we have been focusing on practical measures to support farmers to increase their access to fodder and bedding.   In response to farmers’ queries, we have already clarified that English farmers, unlike farmers in some other EU countries where derogations from European law have been sought, have been able to use Ecological Focus Area fallow land for grazing since 1 July.   The UK was the first Member State to raise a concern with the Commission over the difficulties farmers faced in establishing Ecological Focus Area catch crops by the required date of 20 August. Other Member States agreed with us and the Commission agreed that “force majeure” should apply in these circumstances, so we could waive any penalties for farmers for non-compliance with EU law.   We are seeking a derogation from the EU requirement to sow only certain seed types which are unpalatable to livestock in Ecological Focus Areas as catch crop. The derogation we expect to secure this week will allow for grass and herbaceous forage to be grown in those areas, and for those areas to be grazed.   On Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship and forestry legacy agreements, farmers are able to ask Natural England to agree a temporary variation to the agreement conditions, either as an Environmental Stewardship Derogation (to date, over 100 have been granted) or a Countryside Stewardship Minor and Temporary Adjustment (over 30 have so far been granted).   We are considering 30 agri-environment options where farmers and land managers are more likely to be affected by drought to see where we would accept temporary derogations. These include derogations that may help support grazing, bedding and fodder. In some cases, these could provide for earlier cutting, grazing or sowing of forage within certain parameters that are designed to minimise the overall environmental impact.   As regards cash flow, the Rural Payments Agency and Natural England are fully focused on getting basic payment scheme (BPS) and agri-environment scheme payments issued promptly. In addition, we are considering options such as bringing forward bridging payments for those BPS claimants who have not received their BPS 2018 payments by the end of December.   It is clear that the main impact of the recent drought conditions is likely to be felt by livestock farmers facing a shortage of fodder and that the full extent of the impacts may not be realised until later in the year. We have prioritised practical solutions to help farmers increase access to fodder and bedding both now and in the coming months. These actions will help farmers to limit the impact of extra feed costs by allocating land to forage growth and grazing, but we will keep the situation under review.

Water: Shortages

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the long and short-term (a) financial and (b) environmental effect of the recent water shortages on farmers in Cumbria.

George Eustice: It is clear that the main impact of the recent drought conditions is likely to be felt by livestock farmers facing a shortage of fodder and that the full extent of the impacts may not be realised until later in the year. We have prioritised practical solutions to help farmers increase access to fodder and bedding both now and in the coming months. These actions will help farmers to limit the impact of extra feed costs by allocating land to forage growth and grazing, but we will keep the situation under review.   Observations and discussions with local farmers and partners in Cumbria indicates that there have been localised impacts on farmers during the driest period – particularly for those farmers on private surface water supplies in the uplands. This has most notably had an impact upon silage and winter feed grass crops, with a reduced number of ‘cuts’ this year. This is expected to place a greater burden on some farmers over this coming winter in terms of having to buy in feed.   It is also anticipated that some farmers within Nitrate Vulnerable Zones may need to seek permission to spread slurries outside of the closed period this winter. The Environment Agency (EA) will work with farmers on this on a case by case basis.

Nappies: Waste Disposal

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2018 to Question 165481, what the outcomes were of his recent meeting with the Nappy Alliance; and if he or other Ministers of his Department will meet with the Nappy Alliance again to learn more about reusable nappy products.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Reusable nappies make a valuable contribution to reducing residual waste that has to be disposed of to landfill or incineration. Officials from Defra’s waste and recycling team met representatives from the Nappy Alliance on 13 June. They discussed the benefits of reusable nappies in the context of single-use plastic and reducing waste. There are no plans for further meetings.

Dairy Farming

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect  on the flow of (a) goods and (b) labour in the UK dairy industry of the UK leaving the EU.

George Eustice: On leaving the EU, the UK will have an independent trade policy and a new agriculture policy to replace the Common Agricultural Policy. As a result, the impact of the UK leaving the EU on British agriculture (and within that the UK dairy industry) will depend not just on the shape of a UK-EU trade agreement but also on the Government’s future trade and agriculture policies.   To that end, the Government is undertaking a wide range of analysis looking at the implications of leaving the EU. This ongoing analysis is helping to develop a detailed understanding of how withdrawing from the EU will impact on the UK in order to best inform Government policy going forward.

Dairy Products: Imports

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report, The impact of Brexit on the UK dairy sector, published by LSE Consulting and Arla Foods UK in July 2018, what recent discussions he has had on the effect on consumers of border delays to the import of dairy products after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: Defra is working closely with stakeholders, including retailers, ports and other Government departments to ensure three key objectives (maintaining security, facilitating the flow of goods and people and revenue protection) for the border are delivered for Day 1 and beyond.While the UK Government is confident that it will agree a deal, as a responsible Government it will continue to prepare for all scenarios, including the unlikely outcome that the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019 without a deal.

Dairy Farming

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of World Trade Organisation tariffs on the sustainability of the UK dairy industry in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon, Layla Moran, on 6 November 2017 to PQ 110477.

Dairy Farming

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to ensure that the supply of (a) goods and (b) labour for the dairy industry is not (i) obstructed and (ii) delayed by the UK's exit from the EU.

George Eustice: The Government recognises the concerns of stakeholders and is determined to get the best deal for the UK in our negotiations to leave the EU, including for the dairy sector. Our proposal for a common rulebook, as part of a free trade area for goods, would for agri-food cover only those rules for products that must be checked at the border. It does not cover other rules where we want regulatory flexibility in order to help our sectors to innovate and flourish. In this regard we have already announced that we will be leaving the Common Agricultural Policy and introducing a new agricultural policy that works in the best interests of land managers in England. Until the end of December 2020, employers in the agricultural and food processing sectors can recruit EU citizens to fill vacancies and those arriving to work will be able to stay in the UK afterwards. In June 2018, the Home Office announced further details about how EU citizens and their families can obtain settled status in the UK. After we leave the EU, we must have an immigration system which works in the best interests of the UK – controlling immigration whilst continuing to welcome those who make an invaluable contribution. That is why the Government is considering the options carefully, and will ensure that businesses and communities, including representatives from across the food chain, have the opportunity to contribute their views. Whilst the UK prepares to leave the EU, Defra is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that there is a long term strategy for the food and farming workforce as part of the future immigration policy. The Government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to assess the role that EU citizens play in the UK economy and society, and how to align the future immigration framework with modern industrial strategy. We welcome the MAC’s interim report published in March 2018 and will consider its evidence in full when it publishes its final report in September 2018.

Fracking

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled Potential Air Quality Impacts of Shale Gas Extraction in the UK, published by his Department in 2018, for what reason the report was compiled in 2015 but not published until 2018.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This was a routine report by the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG). Although it was based on an assimilation of evidence that took place in 2015, the report itself was not finalised until 2017. It was prepared alongside other AQEG reports, for example on ultrafine particles and vegetation, which were produced on similar timelines. These reports were released together following publication of the government’s Clean Air Strategy.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Publications

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department currently has any commissioned or compiled reports that have been awaiting publication for over six months.

George Eustice: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Palm Oil

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by Imperial College London, entitled Palm oil supply chain complexity impedes implementation of corporate no-deforestation commitments, published in May 2018.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We are aware of the report by Imperial College London entitled ‘Palm oil supply chain complexities impedes implementation of corporate no-deforestation commitments.’   Although we have no plans to formally assess the report, the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan makes clear the UK’s commitment to supporting the implementation of deforestation-free supply chains for key commodities, including palm oil, working with a broad range of stakeholders.   We are a co-signatory to the Amsterdam Declarations, which are political agreements that aim to support the implementation of private sector commitments on deforestation and sustainable palm oil. We are also a member of Tropical Forest Alliance 2020; a public-private co-operation working to help organisations achieve their deforestation-free commitment, eliminate illegality from supply chains and improve the quality and availability of deforestation and supply chain data.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government has made on plans for farming subsidies after Britain leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: ‘Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit’ published in February 2018 set out a clear direction of travel for future farm support in England. This consultation paper proposed a new system of paying farmers and land managers ‘public money for public goods’. The consultation closed in May and we intend to bring forward an Agriculture Bill shortly.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans as a result of extreme weather conditions to instruct the Rural Payments Agency to make advance payments or bridging loans to farmers who will not have received their 2018 BPS by 31 December 2018.

George Eustice: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is fully focussed on getting Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2018 payments issued promptly. Given the prescriptive EU requirements in making advance payments, RPA will concentrate on making payments from the opening of the payment window in December. In addition we are reviewing options, such as bringing forward bridging payments, for those BPS claimants who will not have received their BPS 2018 payments in December.

Grazing Land

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will grant farmers flexibility in allowing livestock to graze land which is not normally permitted for grazing because of the short supply of bedding and grazing.

George Eustice: Three variations or derogations from EU law have been granted or are under active discussion in Brussels in relation to grazing. First, some member states have secured permission to allow the grazing of Ecological Focus Area (EFA) Fallow Land. This derogation is not relevant in England as we already allow the grazing of such land after 1 July each year. The UK was the first Member State to raise a concern with the European Commission over the difficulties farmers faced in establishing EFA catch crops by the required date of 20 August. Other Member States agreed with us and the Commission agreed that “force majeure” should apply in these circumstances, so we could waive any penalties for farmers for non-compliance with EU law. The third possibility relates to the small areas of land that have been declared as EFA Winter Cover Crops for the purposes of the EU Greening requirements. This green cover must be present from 1 October to at least 15 January and ordinarily must not be grazed. Because of the extreme weather conditions, the EU is considering waiving that rule for 2018 in suitably justified areas, and we have asked that England be listed amongst those countries eligible for this derogation. The change that we expect to secure this week will allow for grass and other herbaceous forage to be grown in those areas, rather than the usual restrictive list of plant species, and for those areas to be grazed.

Forage and Bedding: Imports

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Irish Government on its plans to reintroduce a subsidy on the import of forage and bedding; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such a subsidy on the supply of forage and bedding within the UK.

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent dry weather on farmers and food producers.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent dry weather on farmers and food producers.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for the price and supply of fodder in the UK of the Irish Government’s fodder transport scheme.

George Eustice: Farmers in the UK, Ireland and across northern Europe have experienced a difficult time this year with the hot, dry weather. The impacts are likely to be most severely felt by the grazing livestock due to the shortage of grass.   It is clear that the main impact of the recent drought conditions is likely to be felt by livestock farmers facing a shortage of fodder and that the full extent of the impacts may not be realised until later in the year. We have prioritised practical solutions to help farmers increase access to fodder and bedding both now and in the coming months. These actions will help farmers to limit the impact of extra feed costs by allocating land to forage growth and grazing, but we will keep the situation under review.   Particular measures the Government has taken to help farmers are:   We have clarified that English farmers, unlike farmers in other EU countries where derogations have been sought, have been able to use fallow land for grazing since 1 July. That is because our legislation reflects what we consider to be the minimum EU requirement. We were the first Member State to raise a concern with the Commission to establish Ecological Focus Area (EFA) catch crops by 20 August: Other Member States agreed with us and the Commission agreed that “force majeure” would apply in these circumstances, so we could waive penalties for farmers in this situation. We are seeking a derogation from the requirement to sow only certain seed types which are unpalatable to livestock in EFA areas as catch crop. The derogation we expect to secure this week will allow for grass and herbaceous forage to be grown in those areas, and those areas to be grazed. On Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship and forestry legacy agreements farmers are able to ask Natural England to agree a temporary variation to the agreement conditions, either as an Environmental Stewardship Derogation (to date, over 100 have been granted) or a Countryside Stewardship Minor and Temporary Adjustment (over 30 have so far been granted). I will monitor whether the fodder import scheme that has been introduced in Ireland has an appreciable effect on supplies of fodder and bedding within the UK. We have also made the point to the European Commission that whilst the UK is committed to working to identify appropriate responses to this year’s weather impacts, these should not interfere with the normal functioning of the market or obscure the focus of farmers in mitigating weather impacts.

Nature Conservation: EU Grants and Loans

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to continue to provide funding for conservation projects in overseas territories once EU funding ends after the UK leaves the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 5 September 2018, PQ UIN167884.

Home Office

Deportation: Caribbean

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children of Windrush Generation immigrants have been deported in each of the last eight years.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children of Windrush generation migrants have been (a) detained in immigration detention centres, (b) denied access to healthcare, (c) denied access to benefits and (d) stripped of their right to work in each of the last eight years.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Windrush Generation children have been subject to reporting requirements as a result of her Department classifying their immigration status as uncertain.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to review all cases involving the (a) deportation and (b) detention of a Windrush generation child.

Caroline Nokes: The department has been reviewing the cases of all Caribbean Commonwealth nationals, born before 1 January 1973, who have been removed and/or detained by the Home Office since 2002 (when the Casework Information Database (CID) was available across the immigration system) to identify any individuals where there was an indication in the record that the individual could have been in the UK before 1973.The Home Secretary wrote to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 August to provide an update on this work. Letters of apology are being sent from the Home Secretary to the eighteen individuals who we consider are most likely to have suffered detriment because their right to be in the UK was not recognised and where the Department is most likely to have acted wrongfully in removing and / or detaining them. A copy of this letter has been deposited in the House Library.This work is ongoing and the Home Secretary committed to regularly updating the Home Affairs Select Committee on this work, as well as the review into proactive compliant environment sanctions.Children of the Windrush generation who were born in the United Kingdom will generally consider themselves to be British. However, in some cases they may need a document to confirm that status. Others will have the right to register as British. This is being facilitated through the Windrush taskforce. Additionally, any child of a member of the Windrush generation who was born abroad and who came to live in the UK before they were 18 and has been continuously resident and meets the good character requirements may apply to obtain citizenship.

Refugees: Children

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied child refugees have been re-settled in Scotland in each of the last three years; and how many of those children were resettled with family already living in Scotland.

Caroline Nokes: The Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme (VCRS) resettles ’at-risk’ refugee children from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including their families. Our aim is to resettle up to 3,000 people (children and families, where the child at risk is part of a family unit) through the scheme by 2020.The scheme does not solely target unaccompanied children, but on UNHCR’s advice also extends to vulnerable ‘children at risk’, such as those threatened with child labour, child marriage and other forms of abuse or exploitation. It is open to all at risk groups and nationalities within the region.The scheme, which is the largest resettlement effort aimed specifically at children at risk from the MENA region, is in addition to the Government’s commitment to resettle 20,000 refugees from Syria under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS).The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The statistics are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-june-2018.

Refugees: English Language

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to improve the English Language lessons service for refugees; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is committed to ensuring that all refugees have access to the English language support they need. For refugees resettled in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme the Government has provided additional funding which can be accessed by local authorities. Those who make their own way to the UK to claim asylum and are granted refugee status are eligible for funding for English language courses through the Adult Education Budget. Courses are free for unemployed refugees who are looking for work.The Government published the Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper on 14th March (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/integrated-communities-strategy-green-paper). This included proposals on the future of integration support for refugees and set out that the Government will work with civil society to increase integration support for refugees recognised after arrival in the UK. The Green Paper committed Government to share best practice and build on learning about what works in relation to support for refugees on employment, English language, mental health and cultural orientation. It also proposed the development of a new English language strategy for England.Consultation on the Green Paper closed in June and there will be a Government response in the Autumn.

Entry Clearances: India

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules, HC1154, published on 15 June 2018, for what reasons India was not included; and what plans he has to include students from India in the future.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules, HC1154, published on 15 June 2018, for what reasons Pakistan was not included, and what plans he has to include students from Pakistan in the future.

Caroline Nokes: The addition of new countries and competent authorities to Appendix H is based on objective data. As stated in my previous response to UIN 160204 and UIN 157145, the factors which are considered include the volume of students from a country and their Tier 4 immigration compliance risk.Information on risk profiles is sensitive and cannot be disclosed.We will keep Appendix H under review, adding and removing countries and competent authorities from this list based on objective criteria at each refresh.

Visas

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many priority visa applications have been processed in the last 12 months within the six-week time frame set by his Department.

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of priority visa applications processed in the last 12 months have been processed within the six-week time frame set by his Department.

Caroline Nokes: The Priority Visa Service for settlement applications aims to process straightforward cases within 30 working days.Those applications made under the priority service will be placed to the front of the processing queue and expedited. However, it should be noted that timescales for decisions are not guaranteed.Data on PV settlement visa processing times is not currently published. Published data on settlement visa processing times can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-operations-transparency-data-august-2018

Animal Experiments: Horses

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 14 of the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2017, published on 19 July 2018, for what reason there has been an 18 per cent increase in horse use since 2016.

Mr Ben Wallace: The 2017 Annual Statistics show an increase in the number of scientific procedures involving horses from 8,948 procedures in 2016, to 10,600 procedures in 2017. This increase is accounted for by an increased collection of blood from those animals. Each blood collection is counted as a separate procedure and horses are used many times for this low severity procedure.Blood products are used for a variety purposes, mainly human diagnostic tests. The increased number of procedures in 2017 reflects the increased demand for blood products by diagnostic and research laboratories. Over the same period there was a reduction in the number of new horses, used for the first time for this purpose, from 373 to 288.

Animal Experiments

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 27 the report, Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2017, published by his Department on 19 July 2018, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban animal testing for household product ingredients.

Mr Ben Wallace: The HO has published clear guidance on the Household Products testing ban, which is available on Gov.ukThe Household Products Testing ban has been in place since 2015.

Animal Experiments

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 27 of the report, Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2017, published by his Department on 19 July 2018 on the use of an neuromuscular blocking agent which did not also include a general anaesthetic, which species of animal was involved; and what procedures were conducted with that agent.

Mr Ben Wallace: Neuromuscular blocking agents were licensed for use, without general anaesthetic, for basic research on zebra fish fry for the purposes of research into the functioning of the nervous system. The procedures authorised were non-invasive imaging. The procedures are not painful, and although at this stage the fry do not need to move for respiration, they are kept in water while being imaged.The neuromuscular blockers ensure that swimming movements do not interfere with the highly sophisticated imaging of their nervous systemsThis work was licensed following a robust Harm Benefit Analysis, consistent with the requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Asylum: Finance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the rates of financial assistance provided through asylum support.

Caroline Nokes: The most recent assessment of the adequacy of the asylum support rates is set out in a report published in March 2018, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers.We are currently undertaking a further review of the rates and have consulted key stakeholders in the normal way.The consultation period has now ended and a decision on whether the rates should change will be made shortly.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many enforcement actions have been taken on unauthorised traveller settlements in each local authority area in each year since 2008.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not collect information on the enforcement actions taken by the police relating to unauthorised traveller settlements.

White Helmets: North West

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the statement by the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development, made on 22 July 2018, whether White Helmet volunteers have been resettled in the (a) North West, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Denton and Reddish constituency.

Caroline Nokes: Together with international partners, the UK is working to resettle members of the White Helmets and their families. Any resettlement to the UK will be in line with the established UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) process for identifying and resettling the most vulnerable refugees. Our prime concern for those coming to the UK under our resettlement schemes is their safety and protection as they arrive in this country. We believe that one way to protect their privacy and support their recovery and integration is to limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available.Notwithstanding this the Home Office is committed to publishing data on arrivals in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics

Immigration: Human Rights

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the target time is for processing a leave to remain application that is made on human rights grounds.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not currently have a published service standard for family and private life applications but endeavours to determine what are often complex applications as soon as possible.

Immigration: Human Rights

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current average waiting time is for the processing of a leave to remain case that is made on human rights grounds.

Caroline Nokes: Data on processing times for in-country leave to remain human rights applications is available within published In-Country Migration Data:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-august-2018Refer to tab InC_05: ‘Non-Straightforward Workable’

Immigration: Human Rights

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for leave to remain on human rights grounds have been processed in each of the last 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: Data on the volume of in-country leave to remain human rights applications is available within published In-Country Migration Data:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-august-2018Refer to tab InC_05: ‘Non-Straightforward Workable’

Asylum: Evictions

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his Department have had with Serco on recent reports of the eviction of asylum seekers from their allocated properties; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office currently provides accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, until their asylum claim is fully determined or where they have a practical or legal obstacle that temporarily prevents them leaving the UK.The individuals who are subject to the proposed lock change notices in Scotland are those who have no right to accommodation, have had their asylum claims determined and, where relevant, upheld by the courts.Home Office officials are in regular contact with our accommodation providers as part of our day to day management of the accommodation contracts.In relation to the issuing of lock change notices there have been a number of meetings between senior officials, Serco and relevant stakeholders to address this issue, with a protocol agreed with partners in Glasgow City Council around how such cases are managed.In addition, following a productive series of meetings over recent weeks my officials and representatives from Serco form part of a Task Force chaired by Glasgow City Council which is committed to reviewing the cases identified by Serco that may no longer be entitled to Home Office support to ensure they are managed appropriately.

Scotland Office

Food Banks: Scotland

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he plans to visit a food bank in September 2018.

David Mundell: I currently have no plans to visit a food bank in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland in September 2018.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Economic Growth

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, to list every external economic report that his Department's Planning and Analysis Directorate has analysed for Ministers since his Department was formed.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations, which includes keeping abreast of the external debate on these issues. The analysis programme supports our negotiation of our future partnership with the EU, and informs our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks.Ministers have a specific responsibility, which Parliament has endorsed, not to release information that would reveal our negotiating position and so the Government will not provide an ongoing commentary on internal analytical work that is being carried out.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Sir Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff work in his Department's Planning and Analysis Directorate.

Suella Braverman: All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK. The Department for Exiting the European Union continues to recruit the brightest and the best from across the civil service, the wider public sector and the private sector, in a range of professions, including the Government Economics Service (GES).The Department now has over 650 staff based in the UK, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels. We regularly reviews headcount to ensure we are appropriately resourced to deliver the Department’s objectives to secure the best possible deal on the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU, and build a deep and comprehensive future partnership between the UK and the EU.

EU Institutions: Disclosure of Information

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many outstanding (a) official investigations and (b) legal cases there are led by the European Commission and involving UK nationals employed within EU institutions who have acted as whistle-blowers against alleged malpractice or fraud; what steps the Government is taking to pursue these investigations and cases notwithstanding the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Suella Braverman: The Government does not monitor or track cases which the EU has instigated against its own staff, including if those staff are of UK nationality as these individuals have no connection with HMG. The European Commission is best to placed to answer how many outstanding cases there are.

Broadcasting: Regulation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he now plans to negotiate mutual recognition of broadcasting regulation standards with the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: The audiovisual sector is both economically and culturally important to the UK and the EU. In our future partnership with the EU, we are seeking to maintain regulatory flexibility in important parts of the UK’s services economy, including broadcasting. Overall, this represents the best, credible proposal for the future relationship and a new and fair balance of rights and obligations.As the Prime Minister stated in the Mansion House speech, the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) will no longer apply in the UK after the UK leaves the EU and with it the single market. As a result, the “country of origin” principle, in which a company based in one Member State can be licenced by a national regulator and broadcast into any other Member State, will no longer apply.The UK is seeking the best possible arrangements for the broadcasting sector. We are focussing on ensuring the ability to trade as freely as possible with the EU and supporting the continued growth of the UK and European broadcasting industry. In addition, due to the UK's ongoing participation in the Council of Europe's Convention on Transfrontier Television (CTT), which will not be affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, works originating in the UK will continue to be classed as European Works, which is extremely important to industry.

Economic Analysis

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish the Government's full economic analysis of the effect on the UK of leaving the EU without a deal in advance of the vote in Parliament on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government has confirmed that when we bring forward the vote on the final deal, we will ensure that Parliament is presented with the appropriate analysis to make an informed decision. This will be the right time for the government to present its work. It will allow parliament to scrutinise analysis based on the most accurate assessment we can make.

UK Relations with EU

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 63.a of chapter 2 on page 63 of the document entitled The Future Relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published on 12 July 2018, what progress he has made in developing a future partnership with the EU to cover consultation and regular dialogue on geographic and thematic issues and the global challenges the UK and the EU face.

Suella Braverman: We have held a number of constructive discussions with the EU on the future external security partnership, including consultation and dialogue on geographic and thematic issues and global challenges.We are seeking to develop a new security partnership with the EU that builds on the breadth and depth of our shared interests and values, and takes account of the range of ever evolving global security threats that we face. We want to continue to cooperate with the EU on foreign policy, defence and development. Regular consultation and dialogue will be an important pillar of our future partnership in this area.

Treasury

Children: Day Care

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2018 to Question 133821 on Children: Day Care, what advice his Department has provided to the Northern Ireland parties and the Northern Ireland Civil Service based on the experience of developing and administering the 30 hours free childcare policy in England.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral contribution of 13 March 2018, Official Report, column 802, what steps he has taken during the six-month extension to the childcare voucher scheme to address the concerns raised in that debate.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Education of 13 March 2018, Official Report, Column 802, what steps he has taken during the six month extension to the childcare voucher scheme to address the concerns raised in that debate.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions of 13 March 2018, Official Report, column 767, what steps he has taken to address the specific circumstances affecting public sector employees in relation to childcare vouchers are; and what discussions he has had with colleagues from Northern Ireland in relation to those steps.

Elizabeth Truss: HM Treasury, the Department for Education and HM Revenue & Customs met with the Northern Ireland Department of Education in June to discuss the experience of developing and administering the 30 hours free childcare policy in England. To reflect concerns about the timing of the closure of childcare vouchers and the transition to Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) raised in the debate in April, the government took the decision to keep childcare vouchers open for a further six months until October. This has allowed more time for TFC to bed in, for awareness to increase and for families to understand the support they can receive under the scheme. HM Revenue and Customs have been making improvements to the childcare service since it was launched in April 2017. Over the last four months they have provided over 99% of parents with an eligibility decision within 5 working days; reduced the number of problems that parents experienced, meaning that less than 1% of parents now see an error screen whilst applying or using their account; and made improvements to the customer experience. As a result, there has been an increase in parent satisfaction to over 80%. The government has increased communications about TFC and the Childcare Choices website. As a result, we have seen a rise in the number of visitors to the sites. Communications activity will increase further in September at the start of the new school year, with a marketing campaign in the autumn to support take up of TFC. All public-sector workers in the UK who meet the eligibility criteria for TFC will be able to claim government support for 20% of their childcare costs, up to an annual maximum of £2,000 for each child. We are working to make sure all parents, including those in the public sector, are aware of this support and how to access it. Ministers and officials have also met with interested stakeholders across the UK.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many NCC1, Support for a child conceived without your consent forms have been received by HMRC.

Elizabeth Truss: Statistics relating to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children in Child Tax Credit were published on 28th June 2018 and can be accessed at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719458/Two_children_and_exceptions_in_tax_credits_and_Universal_Credit_April_2018.pdf.

Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies: Bank Services

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to bank accounts by community benefit societies; and if he will make a statement.

John Glen: The Treasury has not made an assessment of community benefit societies’ access to banking. However, the RBS alternative remedies package will see a £775m investment in business banking facilities, helping businesses benefit from greater choice and offers on banks’ services. Community benefit societies may also find it helpful to know that the UK Finance website hosts an online guide to help small businesses prepare when opening or switching to a new business current account. This can be found here: https://business-account-opening-guide.ukfinance.org.uk The government recognises the important role of community benefit societies and other forms of social enterprise, which tackle some of the most challenging problems our society faces. In January 2018 DCMS announced £135m allocated to social investment, which social enterprises will benefit from. The Civil Society Strategy, published in August 2018, sets out a long term vision to build stronger communities by bringing business, charities and the public sector together.

Development Aid

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money has been allocated from the public purse for Official Development Assistance to the (a) Foreign and Commonwealth Office (b) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, (c) Home Office (d) Department of Health, (e) Prosperity Fund and (f) Conflict Stability and Security Fund in (i) 2018-19 and (ii) 2019-20.

Elizabeth Truss: The government will publish this information in due course.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK tobacco product track and trace system will be compliant with the requirements of the (a) EU Tobacco Products Directive and (b) WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a tax stamp, label-based track and trace system.

Robert Jenrick: The government published an invitation to tender for the issuing of unique identifiers for the tobacco product track and trace system on 31 August. It is a key condition of securing this contract that the system proposed meets all the requirements of both the EU Tobacco Products Directive and WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. The government has no plans to introduce tax stamps for tobacco products. If a label-based track and trace system is proposed by any of the bidders for the contract, this will be assessed against the requirements for the system alongside any other bids made.

Personal Taxation

Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of raising the personal tax allowance from £11,850 to £12,500.

Mel Stride: The cost of raising the income tax Personal Allowance may be approximated using the “Direct effects of illustrative tax changes” table as published at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/direct-effects-of-illustrative-tax-changes The table shows the cost of a £100 increase and a 10% increase in the Personal Allowance in 2018-19 through to 2020-21. This can be used to assess the expected cost of raising the Personal Allowance to £12,500.

Married People: Tax Allowances

Layla Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many couples claimed Marriage Allowance in each year since 2015-16.

Mel Stride: Marriage Allowance is a tax relief for married couples and civil partners which allows one partner to transfer part of their personal allowance to the other. We estimate a total of 4.2 million couples are eligible for Marriage Allowance, of which a total of 3.2 million have claimed. In 2015/16, 644,916 couples claimed Marriage Allowance.In 2016/17, 1,172,792 couples claimed Marriage Allowance (in addition to those who claimed in 2015/16).In 2017/18, 1,000,067 couples claimed Marriage Allowance (in addition to those who claimed in 2015/16 and 2016/17). In 2018/19 as of 3 September, the number of couples that have successfully claimed Marriage Allowance is 431,579 (in addition to those who have claimed in all previous tax years). Eligible couples who have yet to claim Marriage Allowance for the 2015/16 tax year will not lose out as they have until 5 April 2020 to do so.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Voluntary Work: Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Figure 11 – Volunteering Schemes – International Comparators (2016) and the conclusion on page 16 of Cost Benchmark Report National Citizen Service Final Report, published on 7 February 2018, what the average daily cost per participant to deliver the NCS programme was for (a) Service Civique; (b) Voluntary Social Year (FSJ) + Federal Volunteer Service; and (c) AmeriCorps (State & National).

Tracey Crouch: The French, German and US schemes referred to in the Cost Benchmark Report do not deliver the NCS programme. These schemes are used to compare the cost of the NCS programme with other international youth programmes. The report finds that overall programme costs of NCS are significantly lower than those of these international comparators, although meaningful comparison is difficult as NCS is delivered in an intensive, 3-4 week programme, and these international schemes are delivered over an extended period, varying between 3-18 months and with varying levels of time commitment. These schemes also include direct and indirect payments to participants. DCMS and the NCS Trust are committed to further improving the value for money and reducing the unit cost of the NCS programme. A key opportunity to achieve this is the recommissioning of the NCS provider contracts from 2019 onwards.

Nuisance Calls

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce the number and frequency of nuisance phonecalls.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of nuisance phonecalls on consumers.

Margot James: The government acknowledge that unwanted marketing calls are a source of annoyance and inconvenience for consumers. For the most vulnerable, however, nuisance calls can cause extreme anxiety and distress. We have been clear that there is no place for such calls in society.  To help reduce this problem, we legislated in the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 to further restrict marketing calls from claims management services and pensions providers. We have also recently concluded a consultation on taking tougher action against directors whose companies are responsible for breaches of legislation in relation to nuisance calls and electronic messages. We are currently analysing the consultation responses and will publish a government response in due course.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all Government departments uphold their commitment to ensure that young people are systematically involved in shaping the policies that affect them as outlined in the recently published Civil Society Strategy.

Tracey Crouch: DCMS regularly consults with other government departments on policy areas affecting young people, including on the Civil Society Strategy, to ensure a joined-up approach to policy making. DCMS is leading the way in enabling effective youth participation in national policy making and the department is pioneering approaches which can be adopted across government. These include a Civil Society Youth Steering Group to oversee the development and implementation of policies affecting young people in the Civil Society Strategy; a national Young Commissioners and Inspectors Group to involve young people directly and meaningfully in the commissioning, monitoring and evaluation of national programmes affecting young people; a new digital solution to enable large numbers of young people to play a role in consultations and programme design across the government.

Mobile Phones: Fees and Charges

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Department is taking to include mobile phone roaming provisions in future trade deals.

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the Government's policy is on retaining roaming agreements with the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Government has made of the merits of including free mobile roaming in any future trade deals after the UK leaves the EU.

Margot James: I refer the hon member to the answers to written questions 154793 and 163582.

Broadcasting: Finance

Carol Monaghan: What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of funding in relation to programming for the nations of the UK.

Margot James: The government is committed to the future of minority language broadcasting. The BBC Charter, agreed with government, sets out a clear commitment to Welsh and Gaelic language broadcasting. The BBC must also support the creative economies of each nation and this hugely positive impact can be seen in the world class creative hubs of Glasgow and Cardiff

Gambling: Crime

Ronnie Cowan: What steps his Department is taking to tackle gambling-related harm.

Tracey Crouch: This Government takes gambling-related harm seriously and in May we announced a strong package of measures to tackle it. We have taken decisive action on fixed-odds betting terminals to cut the maximum stake to £2. On 5th September, the Gambling Commission launched its consultation on proposals to increase player protections online, including stronger age and identity verification. Further consultation on affordability checks will follow in due course

Young People: Voluntary Work

Michael Tomlinson: What plans he has to discuss the establishment of a youth full-time social action pilot programme with delivery organisations.

Tracey Crouch: I met both Steve Holliday, the Chair of the Full Time Social Action Review, and City Year, a provider of full time social action, in May. I have no further plans to discuss a pilot programme with delivery organisations. We are committed to supporting young people to take action on the issues they care about, and has invested in youth social action through programmes including the #iwill campaign and the National Citizen Service.

Domestic Visits: Wakefield

Mary Creagh: Whether he plans to visit Wakefield in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Ellis: I refer the hon member to my response to her question during the topical oral questions on 6th September.I do hope to visit Wakefield within the next 12 months.

Social Enterprises

Gareth Snell: What steps his Department is taking to encourage the public sector to commission goods and services from social enterprises.

Tracey Crouch: The Civil Society Strategy recently set out government's long term ambition to grow social value commissioning and strengthen the Social Value Act.We have already committed £2.7 million to support the growth and sustainability of public service mutuals, the majority of which are staff-led social enterprises. With the Cabinet Office, DCMS is implementing a package of measures for the future of social value and procurement. This includes training for government commercial staff and will help unlock more opportunities for social enterprises.

Northern Ireland Office

Devolution: Northern Ireland

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what reserved matters the Northern Ireland Assembly can legislate on with the consent of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Reserved matters, where the Northern Ireland Assembly can legislate with the consent of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, are outlined in Schedule 3 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and include: firearms and explosivesfinancial services and pensions regulationbroadcastingimport and export controlsnavigation and civil aviationinternational trade and financial marketstelecommunications and postagethe foreshore and seabeddisqualification from Assembly membershipintellectual propertyconsumer safety

Brexit: Northern Ireland

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on Northern Ireland.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The UK Government is determined to deliver the best deal for the whole of our United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. As the December Joint Report makes clear, we are committed to avoiding a hard border, including any physical infrastructure or related checks and controls, while maintaining the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom. We have proposed a comprehensive future partnership between the UK and the EU which would meet these commitments.

Stormont House Agreement

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to establish the legacy bodies agreed under the Stormont House Agreement.

Mr Shailesh Vara: On 11 May 2018, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland launched the public consultation, ‘Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past’. The consultation sets out how the proposed institutions will work in practice and provides everyone who has an interest with the opportunity to see the proposed way forward and contribute to the discussion on the issues. The consultation was due to close on 10 September, however following calls from stakeholders for additional time to complete responses, the Secretary of State has extended the closing date to 5 October.

City Deals: Northern Ireland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to help deliver city deals for Northern Ireland.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This Government has committed to a comprehensive and ambitious set of city deals across Northern Ireland to boost investment and help unlock Northern Ireland’s full potential. We have opened negotiations with local partners in the Belfast City Regions on a possible Deal and the Chancellor has invited Derry & Strabane District Council to also submit their proposals for a City Deal. Both regions are working intensively alongside the NICS and UK Government to develop bids that will seek to deliver step changes in economic productivity and growth and I look forward to reviewing their proposals in the near future.